Memento Mori
by Runandra
Summary: DISCONTINUED - It started with Kuroro Lucifer's coincidental dream of his long forgotten past. Meanwhile, Kurapika encountered a very unusual girl who knew that he was a Kuruta. R&R please! No shonen-ai, by the way.
1. Chapter 1 : It Starts With A Dream

_**Introduction**: Kuroro Lucifer was only half-way free from Kurapika's Judgment Chain, and he was on his way to reunite with his comrades. A coincidental dream of his long forgotten childhood visited him, and he suspected the person in his dream might be the key to his complete freedom. However, the person happened to be...?_

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hunterxhunter (I wish I do), only some of the original characters._

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_**CHAPTER 1: It Starts With A Dream**_

The air was heavy with the smell of rubbish and dirt. Dusts obscured his vision, falling like a transparent curtain before his eyes. The boy walked briskly around the streets, his body remembered every turn, every nook and crannies in the dilapidated town. He had been living in that abandoned city since he could remember. He did not know his parents, but he did not care. He was fine on his own. In fact, he was quite grateful that he had no adults to nag him around to scavenge for some goods to sell to earn the living. No, he was a survivor on his own.

He glanced at the horizon with his dark eyes. The sun was setting low, and he knew that he had to rush. Soon enough, the boy was already out of town, his legs carrying his body as fast as they could towards the forestry at the other end of the region. In his heart, he fervently hoped that he was not late yet.

As soon as he reached the dense forest, he directed his legs towards the nearby streams, where they had promised to meet. He could hear his harsh breathing, laborious due to the long period of non-stop running. The clearing was already visible, the boy fighting his way against the bushes. He wished that the person would still be there. They had made promise.

With one lunge, the boy stumbled from the last and thickest bush into the clearing. The noises that he made jolted the person sitting on the rock next to the stream. The person turned around, and upon seeing him, a smile flashed. The glaring red of the setting sun fell on the person's silvery hair, making it glimmered like fiery silver strands. It was a sight to behold.

The person stood up and approached him. His dark eyes met with purple amaranthine eyes. He rarely smiled, but right at that moment, they were smiling at each other.

"Promise, Kuroro."

***

He blinked once, and then twice. The voice still lingered in his mind like a thin morning mist, but in front of him, the person was no longer there. Instead, he saw through the glass window of the blimp that he was boarding.

_Dream_? Kuroro thought, perplexed. He was not the type who dreamed in his sleep. He rarely dreamed, and was not interested in them. What disturbed him was that the dream seemed to come from his childhood past. Yes, in the dream he was about 16, some years before the birth of Genei Ryodan. He glanced at the window in front of him. The evening sky was falling, and the sky was glaring red as if it was bleeding.

Kuroro tried to remember his dream again. He promised something to the person; to a certain _girl_. However, he could not quite recall her face, except for her silver hair. He tried to remember, but the memories seemed to slip from his fingers like sands the harder he tried to grasp them. Suddenly, his quiet thoughts were interrupted as the cell phone in his coat vibrated. He fished it out and looked at the screen briefly, before answering the call.

"Yes, Nobunaga?"

"Danchou, when are you coming back?!" The samurai almost literally shouted to the phone. Kuroro put the phone an inch away from his ear.

"Soon, Nobunaga. I'm on my way. I'll call you back when I reach Yorkshin City." He hung up then.

For the umpteenth time in the day, Kuroro stared at the evening sky basking in the glory of the setting sun. He was free. The Judgement Chain that gripped his heart, like a poisonous snake ready to strike at any time, had disappeared. However, the leader of the infamous Genei Ryodan was still in a predicament: he still could not use his Nen. Sure, the Chain-user's Nen had been lifted from him; but as long as the original condition to erase the Nen had not been fulfilled, a certain creature would stick to him and drained his Nen; rendering him unable to use his Nen. Kuroro glanced at that certain creature; a black snake with ruby eyes, which was curling just next to him.

_How fitting_, he had thought, _that the creature to devour the Judgment Chain would have eyes resembling that Kuruta boy's eyes._

Abengane, the Jyonen that had removed the so-called curse, was surprised to see a snake appearing to devour the Judgment Chain. Usually, the creature would reflect the extent of the Nen that was devoured by it. It reflected the nature of the Nen and its owner. Seeing the snake, he could only comment that the owner of the Nen was exceptionally strong, yet he most likely had a deceiving look. Kuroro had grimaced when he heard this. Sure, the Chain-user's appearance was deceiving, he could vouch for that. That deceiving look had contributed to his downfall in the young boy's hands, after all.

At least he could now rendezvous with his comrades again. The limbs would work while the head stayed in safety for the time being. That would do just fine. He could bid his time until his comrades could finish the Kuruta boy off, thus setting him free completely from this inconvenient curse.

The sun had set so low that the world seemed to bathe in blood. Kuroro's minds began to wander again as he saw this.

_Silver hair and purple eyes, huh…_

***

His eyes turned brilliant red, his shoulders bristled with anger. One look at him, and his colleagues thought they were standing before an angel of wrath. Kurapika knew it, he could feel it since some days ago; the head of the Spider had broken free, and was returning to reunite with its limbs. He wished that he could just take off and ran after him; but he could not. He had his duty that he had to attend, as long as the contract was in effect.

"Kurapika, are you okay? Your heartbeat is erratic." The small woman next to him piped in, worry was clear in her tiny voice.

Kurapika did not answer back. His mind was too preoccupied that he could not hear his surroundings anymore. Senritsu's face contorted into an anxious one. She knew that Kurapika had not been the same since he managed to kill two members of the Genei Ryodan. He was haunted by something, but she could not pinpoint it. It frustrated her, but the boy would not tell her.

Just as Senritsu was about to say something, the door to their room slammed open, and people in black suit rushed in. All was in a mess, their suit tattered here and there, none of them left unscathed. One of them dragged something while cursing, and then dumped his baggage on the floor in front of Kurapika. The loud clattering of the manacles harassed Senritsu's super sensitive ears, and she gasped as she saw what the 'thing' was.

It was a girl, no older or even younger than Kurapika. One glance at her and Senritsu knew that she was no ordinary girl. She was of small built with slightly tanned skin, and her hair was the colour of twilight sky. The hair was tied to the right side of her head. However, her feature that stood out the most was a pair of snowy white cat ears perched on her dark hair. One of them had an earring with small purplish blue stone attached to it. Senritsu found one word to describe her: exotic.

"This bitch is yours to handle." The man snapped with foul mood. Without saying another word, the men in black suit retreated, slamming the door shut behind them.

A pregnant silent fell into the room. Senritsu fidgeted, unsure of what to do. She glanced at the girl sprawled on the floor, and then at the unmoving Kurapika next to her. Kurapika's eyes had turned to their normal oceanic blue colour, his mind was brought back to present time due to the ruckus the men in black caused. He sighed softly, and then approached the girl. He knelt by her side and positioned her to lie on her back. When he looked at her face, Kurapika gasped audibly.

His eyes were met with a pair of liquid golden orbs. For him, those eyes were most captivating, drawing him to stare at them forever. Strong determination and straight-forwardness were crystal clear in them, telling him of her character. Her lips were tightly shut, and she stared straight at him. It was clear that she was hurt, but she made no complaints.

"What is your name?" He finally asked, his voice as gentle as possible.

The girl said nothing, just stared at him until she looked away, refusing to cooperate. Kurapika sighed again. The head of the Nostrad Clan claimed that he had spotted a rare object and wished to claim it for himself. Unexpectedly, the 'object' that he was talking about was this very same girl. Kurapika did not understand what was so rare about the girl, aside from the fact that she had genuine cat ears on her head. He disliked the idea of capturing a human and treating her as an object. If possible, he would like to release her, or at least treat her like a real human.

"I'm hungry." Suddenly the girl said, but that was all that she said. It took Kurapika by surprise, but nevertheless he asked Senritsu to bring some food for their 'guest'. The girl refused to talk or look at him until her food had arrived and she had eaten some. Kurapika had released the manacles that bound her, thinking that he could handle her on his own, even if she intended to escape.

"Aren't you a Kuruta?" The girl asked with small voice after she was done with her food. She was quite satisfied and had been willing to look at him in the eyes again. She sat on the floor and leaned against the wall.

"How do you know?" Kurapika asked cautiously. It alarmed him that this girl knew about his true identity. It was known to the world that the Kuruta Clan had been driven to extinction by a certain criminal group.

"Your tribal attire, your eyes, your earring, everything." She answered softly. "So there is a survivor, after all."

"And you are?"

"I'm from Deus family." The girl said, her golden eyes fixed on him as if waiting to see his reaction. Seeing none, she continued. "My name is Seraphita. Like you, I'm the last one of my clan, along with my sister."

Kurapika pulled a shocked face. He scrutinised the girl more closely. She was very young, about one year younger than him or so. He could see the strength and vigour in her body; she was well-trained. Her calm demeanour told him that she had been on her own for quite a long time. It meant that her clan was wiped out years ago when she was little.

"How old are you?" He inquired softly. "And where is your sister?"

"I'm 16 this year. My sister is somewhere in the city." She answered honestly.

"I see. Why isn't she with you?" Kurapika settled down in front of her and sat cross-legged.

"She is looking for an old friend." Seraphita answered with a shrug. "We promise to meet up later."

Kurapika stared at her with wide eyes. "Seraphita-san, do you know what situation you are in?"

"I was kidnapped, and brought to this mansion." She answered again with the same indifference. "I let those brutes caught me because I was so hungry and had no energy to fight. I figure that if they'll bring me somewhere where I can get food."

Kurapika's jaws threatened to drop. The girl was surprisingly simple-minded despite her intelligent look. She reminded him of the innocent Gon, but not quite like him at the same time. Also, he noticed that she indirectly implied that she was much stronger than she looked like.

"Hey, you haven't told me your name." She demanded with a slight pout on her lips.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Kurapika." He gave her a small smile. Deep inside, he grew wary of her. Suddenly he got the feelings that there were more than meet the eyes about this girl.

Kurapika felt a tug on his shoulder and he looked up. Senritsu gave him a meaningful look and gestured at him to go outside. Understanding what she meant, Kurapika complied and excused himself from her presence politely. Once outside, Kurapika turned to face the little woman and waited.

"Her heartbeat is different." Senristu started. "It's unlike anything I have ever heard."

"Is it bad?" He asked warily.

"I don't know. It's just…different. It gives the impression that she is life itself, and life is herself."

"You mean she is full of life?" Kurapika offered.

"Not quite. It's like she is part of this world, part of nature, as if her whole being synchronises with her surrounding." Senritsu struggled with the correct epithets, but failed to do so.

"That doesn't sound dangerous." Kurapika's shoulder relaxed visibly. "Maybe she is a content person. Look at her simplistic attitude."

"Maybe you're right." End of discussion, the two of them re-entered the room, only to find the girl curling into a ball on the floor. Both stopped on their track in unison, and they exchanged glances to each other. The same thing popped into their minds: she looked like a sleeping kitten. Suddenly, Kurapika burst into a mild laughter.

"Well, look at her. One moment and she is already asleep on the floor as if this is her home." Kurapika commented with amusement. He strolled towards her and cupped her into his arm. He had anticipated her to be light, but he did not expect her to be _that_ light. Kurapika deposited the burden in his arms gently on the bed and tucked her in.

"Let's report to Nostrad-sama. He would like to hear about her." Senritsu motioned towards the door.

"Yeah, although I don't like the idea of keeping her as a pet." Kurapika said with a grim expression on his face. "She seems like a good girl."

Both retreated from the room and softly closed the door behind them. A second later, Seraphita's eyes fluttered open and her liquid golden eyes gleamed in the darkness of the room. She sat up slowly and glanced to the door. _It was easy to trick them_, she thought. She averted her gaze to the nearest window. Her cat ears perked up as if she caught a faint voice from distant. After listening for a moment, she licked her lips.

_Spiders found, Kurata found. It's time to go_.

***

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_Okay, this is my first fanfic in Hunterxhunter, so some characters may be a bit off. Reviews will be gladly appreciated, but please be gentle =P _

_**Next**: Kuroro found the girl in his coincidental dream; and she was terribly disappointed that Kuroro forgot her. She would only help him if he remembered her, but could he? And who was the girl with the cat ears?_


	2. Chapter 2 : Forgotten, or not?

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hunter x Hunter (much to my chagrin), but I own Seraphita and Shekinah. _

_**Introduction**: It turned out that Seraphita, the unusual girl with cat ears in Kurapika's custody, had something to do with Kuruta and the Genei Ryodan (judging from her last sentence in the previous chapter). What was her relation with them? Also, she mentioned a sister, who was looking for an old friend. Who was her sister, and who was this old friend of hers?_

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_**CHAPTER 2: Forgotten, or not?**_

Silver hair brushed against the thick darkness, its brilliance leaving visible traces wherever it went. The rustle of her skirt was deafening in the middle of her breathless run. She ran deep into the alley, her pursuers hot on her heels. She did not bother to glance back, her bright purple eyes fixed on the road before her. She felt a movement on her right, and ducked just in time. The brick wall on her left turned into rubbles as something sharp slashed through them.

"Nobunaga, don't kill her! We need her alive!" A gruff voice called from the darkness behind her.

"Aye, I got it!" The samurai before her yelled to the darkness, annoyance sharp in his bass voice.

She took another step, intending to escape but she stopped abruptly as a blade was plunged deep into the brick wall, missing her nose just by an inch. The samurai glared at her fiercely, the veins throbbing on his temple.

"Quit it, girl. We got you already. No point in trying to run away." He scowled.

The girl made no sound. She gave him a chilling glare, but stayed rooted on her ground nonetheless. Her fearless look unnerved the samurai, but he tried to contain his irritation. The reason for his irritation was because the very same girl had outrun them for quite some time; a feat that no ordinary girl could just do.

_We are Genei Ryodan, dammit. Just who is this girl to outrun us?_ Nobunaga thought.

The sound of the air being cleaved by something thin resounded in the dark alley, and soon the girl found herself bound by bluish Nen threads. The girl did not bother to struggle, and merely stood there, waiting. Soon enough, a group of people emerged from the darkness behind her.

"Oh? A smart one, isn't she." Machi, the owner of the Nen strings, commented dryly.

"Nobunaga, Danchou has specifically told us to bring the girl _alive_ and _unscathed_. Cut her with your sword, and Danchou will have your head." A Frankenstinian figure spoke with a surprisingly gentle voice.

"Ceh, I know she would not run into my blade. She's no ordinary girl." Nobunaga said curtly.

The girl stared at them with her purple eyes. Her eyes held no fear, no nervousness, only calmness as vast as the ocean. Her entire demeanour was relaxed, as if she was not surrounded by a group of infamous murderers. She broke no sweats, nor did she pant despite having to run for almost two hours.

"Come on, let's go. Danchou is waiting."

With a tug of Machi's Nen strings, the girl started to follow them. They walked in silent, penetrating even deeper into the alley. Machi glanced at the girl, and noted that she was extremely composed. Soon enough, they reached their hideout, the abandoned warehouse hidden deep in the heart of a deserted compound. Without having to grope their way, the Genei Ryodan members easily found their own way to the meeting hall, where Kuroro Lucifer was waiting.

"Danchou, here's your package." Nobunaga announced loudly as he banged the door open.

Machi pushed the girl forward, causing her to stumble slightly. Even in the darkness, her silvery hair glinted like fine silk. Upon recovering her balance, the girl looked up and her purple eyes fell on the figure sitting in the middle of the room. Kuroro was sitting on one of the crate, a book was in his hand and he was looking at her as well. For a split moment, her face lit up as she saw him.

Kuroro studied her feature. Now that he had seen her in flesh, he could be sure that this girl was indeed the one in his dream. So it was not just merely a dream. He briefly scrutinised the girl. She was rather tall and quite slender. Her silver hair dangled from two knots on the sides of her head. Her purple amethyst eyes shone with what he perceived as hope. She was dressed modestly in all white garments, quite the opposite of him. Judging from her appearance, she should be around 20 years-old.

"Machi, release her." Kuroro ordered. As Machi dutifully loosened up her strings around the girl, Kuroro stood up and took some steps forward.

"Kuroro." The girl addressed him suddenly, her voice escaped her lips smoothly and softly.

Her acknowledgment of him made him hesitated. The members were all taken aback to hear her muttering their leader's name so casually. Kuroro had no idea on how to react. The girl clearly recognised and knew him, but he could not remember her. Sensing his thought, the girl's face fell and disappointment was written all over her face.

"You forgot." She muttered in a disbelieving tone and cast down her eyes to the ground.

Before anyone could react, the glass window above them suddenly shattered and strong win blew wildly. Just as everyone, except for Kuroro and the girl, readied themselves into battle mode, a figure had landed smoothly on the ground in a cat-like pose. The first thing they saw about the figure was a pair of feral golden eyes shining in the darkness. Feitan, who was closest to the figure, had unsheathed his sword and lunged to the figure, ready to cleave it into two.

"_Words of Power: Gravity_." The figure murmured quietly in its feminine voice. Suddenly, one of those golden eyes turned chocolate brown. As soon as she finished her sentence, the entire gang fell unto the floor in unison.

"What the—" Nobunaga grunted as he tried to get up. His struggle was useless, it felt as if his body was glued to the ground, and something heavy was placed on his back. It required tremendous effort to even speak and lift his head. The same went for the other members.

The only person standing in the place was the girl in white, while the feral figure that had just arrived stayed low on the ground. Ignoring the latter, the former had her eyes fixed on Kuroro, who had been slammed to the ground as well by the unseen force, but managed to stay on his knees. There was coldness in the previously calm eyes.

"Isn't he the one you are looking for?" The figure asked. If Kuroro was surprised to hear that the girl was actually looking for him, he hid it well.

"Yes, but apparently he doesn't remember." The girl in white replied with hint of sadness in her voice.

Seraphita snorted in a mocking tone. Her sister approached Kuroro and knelt to his eye level. She stared deep into his dark eyes, while his eyes were searching hers.

"Danchou!" Machi could only manage to squeak.

"I'm disappointed, Kuroro." She murmured again. "Our promise 10 years ago."

He wanted to say something, but his throat felt choked. There was a movement on his left, and to his surprise, he spotted the black snake moving about easily. The creature was not affected at all by whatever Seraphita had done on them. The snake hovered above Kuroro's head, its beady ruby eyes stared at the girl curiously. The girl extended her hand and touched the snake. In a fraction of second, Kuroro felt a faint strand of Nen from the girl.

"I see…" the girl closed her eyes. "I know your predicament now. Let me tell you this; we can erase this snake and so releasing your Nen." She said straight to him.

This time, Kuroro's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"But I will only do that if you can find me after you remember our promise. If not, forget it. Don't even bother looking for me." She said coldly. The girl stopped for a moment, as if contemplating something, before finally she spoke again. "I hope this can make you remember."

She raised a hand and tucked her hair behind her left ear to reveal a dangling earring. It was in the shape of a cross. Something flashed in Kuroro's minds as he saw the earring. It looked terribly familiar to him.

"I will be in the city. Come to me when you have remembered." She repeated her condition before turning her back to him. "We are leaving." She announced to her sister.

"Anytime." Seraphita replied with an easy shrug. "_Phantasmal Beasts._"

The feline girl was soon blanketed in her purplish Nen. A gaping black hole appeared in the air, and a beast emerged from it. It was a giant eagle, and as soon as it was out of the black hole, it spread its enormous wings. Seraphita climbed onto its back, and her sister followed suit.

As the eagle ascended towards the sky, Seraphita peeked to the ground. "_Gravity release._" She commanded, and her brown eye turned golden again.

As soon as she spoke the words, the massive force restraining the Ryodan members disappeared and they all sprung to their feet. However, when they glanced upwards, the eagle and its passengers had disappeared, only leaving brown feathers floating down the sky. Some cursed under their breaths out of irritation and annoyance. Shalnark, while dusting his pants, glanced uneasily at Kuroro. The leader had his hand covering his mouth, a gesture he showed only when he was thinking hard.

"Danchou? You know that girl?" He asked unsurely.

"Shekinah." Kuroro suddenly muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Huh?" Shalnark blinked, not understanding the meaning of the word. Kuroro looked up slowly and his dark eyes met Shalnark's.

"Her name is Shekinah."

***

The café was bustling with customers, while the area was filled with the lingering scent of brewed coffee. Of all the customers there, a pair of girls caught the most attention. One had a very eye-catching silvery hair, which she wore down, while the other one had twilight hair that she braided down, and a casquette hat nestled on her head. The older of the two stirred her cappuccino and leaned forwards slightly.

"Say, Sera, do you think he will remember?" She asked, her eyes still fixed on the dark substance.

"How am I supposed to know? You should know him better." Seraphita shrugged while sipping her cold mocha. Her sister leaned back and sighed.

"I supposed so, but now I don't know him anymore. Our friendship in the past had been brief, it should be no wonder that he forgets about me." She tried to reason with herself.

"Well, 10 years is a long time."

Suddenly, Seraphita's keen cat ears caught something and jerked up; under the casquette hat. She stiffened up and started sniffing the cold night air. She shifted her amber gaze to her older sister, who seemed to ignore her sudden attention and found great interest in her cappuccino.

"I'll be around. Tell me when you are done." She abruptly rose from her seat and took off without even sparing her sister time to say anything. Seraphita then strode off quickly, and in no time disappeared among the crowds.

Bewildered by her sudden departure, Shekinah failed to realise that someone was approaching her table fast. The man slipped into the chair that was previously occupied by Seraphita, and settled down. Shekinah, still in confusion, turned around to question him of his rude behaviour but she froze as soon as her purple gaze landed on the man.

He donned black coat over his casual dark shirt and black pants, with white bandanna covering his forehead. His black hair was let down, unlike its usual slick back style. He said nothing, merely gazing steadily at the white lady before him. Soon Shekinah found her breath again and composed herself. She relaxed her tense muscles and leaned back against her chair. She returned his stare and waited. When no words were exchanged after a minute passed, she tried to suppress her urge to sigh heavily.

"So? I'm waiting." She put her hands on the table and clasped them, very like a teacher waiting for her pupil's explanation. Kuroro tried to reorganise his thoughts, trying to string together the scattered memories that he had recollected after a few days of brain-scanning.

"You are Shekinah." He started. "And the other one is your sister, Seraphita. The two of you were orphaned as your clan was slaughtered. You were taken in by a Hunter and became his disciples. Ten years ago, the three of you went to visit Ryuusei-gai, and it was then when I met you."

Shekinah listened to him quietly, her gaze steady and unreadable to him. She nodded in approval and gestured at him to continue. Kuroro gazed at her, his dark eyes searching her. He opened him mouth, but the words came out slowly.

"The memories came…patchy and scattered." He admitted, his gaze fell on to the table. Shekinah looked at him with her unfazed gaze. Deep inside, she was still hurt. She was so sad when she found that Kuroro had forgotten about her.

"I dreamed about you days before I told my comrades to search for you. In the dream, you were about to leave, and then we promised each other…something." He added again.

Shekinah gave up. She could not help herself anymore. Despite wanting him to remember everything about her on his own, despite the childish want to have him remember every single thing by himself, the desire to share her memories that she preserved eclipsed other considerations. She just wanted him to remember her; that was all. She stood up slowly. Kuroro glanced at her, anticipating for her to walk off. However, that never happened.

Instead, she walked around the table and took her seat next to him. She reached out and took his hands from the pockets of his coat and clasped them in hers. Kuroro stiffened upon her gentle touch; they were so soft, yet firm and unyielding. Her fair skin was comparable to his white pale skin.

"Do you want to remember everything?" She whispered to him, her gaze fell on their entwined hands.

"Yes." He said in less than a heartbeat. That brought a small smile to her lips.

"_Phantasmagoria_." She murmured and soon she was blanketed by her thin silvery aura. With the touch of her Nen, Kuroro's Nen stirred and it blanketed him as well. He stiffened in alarm. With his Nen activated, he would be a vulnerable target in the crowds. But what bewildered him the most was that while he could not access his Nen, _she_ could do it without triggering the Judgment Chain in his heart.

"_Don't worry, I have concealed us_." Shekinah spoke to his mind. She pressed his hands gently in an assuring gesture, her purple eyes were half open and they gleamed silvery.

Suddenly, before Kuroro could prepare himself, he felt a flood of images and pictures inundated his minds. At first it was all blurry and he could not catch a single still images. Slowly, the pieces came together and they slowed down until they settled into what seemed like a replay of a recorded video. The first image that he saw was two little girls hugging each other with petrified expression on their pale faces, their dress stained with blood. Standing in front of them was a tall, lanky teenage boy. Kuroro noticed immediately that it was him.

And he was holding a bloody switchblade.

***

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_Tadaaaa... And that's all for today. So, the dream that Kuroro saw was not complete. Seraphita was part supposed to be part of his past as well. Don't you wonder what kind of power these sisters possess, to be able to restrict the Spiders' movement at all? You may ask: what's with the bloody switchblade? You'll see soon, in one of the coming chapters. Hehehe.._

_**Next**: As Kuroro was watching his forgotten past unfolding before him, in the mean time somewhere nearby, Seraphita encountered someone. Or to be exact, an accomplice in her escape from the Nostrad mansion. The unpleasant part was that _he_ was furious to see her around. _


	3. Chapter 3 : Friends

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hunter x hunter (sadly), only Seraphita and Shekinah, and their summons._

_**Story so far**: Shekinah found her old friend, who happended to be none other than Kuroro Lucifer, and she was none other than the girl in his dream. It distressed the silver-haired girl that Kuroro had forgotten their promise, but she shared her memories with him anyway. Meanwhile, Seraphita was wandering on her own, when she encountered someone. And that encounter started off unpleasantly..._

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_**CHAPTER 3: Friends**_

"What are you doing here?!"

Irritation was clear in his voice. He had his arms akimbo, his brows furrowed until they almost touched each other. He had tried to contain the anger, but still some bubbles escaped through his voice. The girl cringed as she heard the edge in his voice, but nonetheless stood her ground.

"Well?" He demanded again.

"Looking around? Window shopping?" She offered a sheepish grin, which did nothing to mellow the boy's displeasure.

The boy sighed and shook his head crowned with blond hair. His shoulders sagged in what could be interpreted as a sign of weariness.

"I don't mind that part, but at least _please_ do something about your eyes. They are conspicuous!" He jabbed a finger at her eyes.

"Especially in a metropolitan city like Yorkshin, there are those…vermins…who are out to collect exotic things, including humans. You better look as normal as possible." He said with a hint of worry in his voice as he glanced past his shoulder. "My boss is one." He mumbled beneath his breath.

"Is that why you use contact lens? To hide the true colour of your eyes?" She cocked her head to her side.

"Yes. Come on, we can't stay here. I'll help you buy some contact-lens." He took her wrist and dragged her along. They walked past the squirming mass of people in the shopping mall. Kurapika glanced around frequently as he led the way, but the girl did not notice this.

"Why are you here in the first place, Kurapika-san? You don't strike me as the type who shops in a mall alone." She asked innocently.

"I'm not alone. I'm here for duty." He said sternly, indicating that he was unhappy with his assignment. "The spoiled daughter of my boss wants to go out and shop, so I have to accompany her as bodyguard."

"And aren't you abandoning your duty now?" They were past the densest part of the mall and were walking towards a certain row of shops.

"Not really. There are others with her, my friend knows I'm with you." He said while hurrying.

"Your friend as in the small woman who were with you in the mansion?"

"You've got good memory. Yes, that one." Kurapika nodded with approval. "Come on."

They entered a small, humble optics. Kurapika immediately approached the optician and asked for a pair of contact-lens without adjustments. When the lady asked him of what colour he wanted, Kurapika glanced at Seraphita, who was engrossed in examining every pair of glasses on display. She had dark hair and slightly tanned skin. _Maybe blue will suit her_, he thought. And he ordered blue. As they waited for the optician, Kurapika observed the curious girl. She really took her time to stare at the glasses arranged neatly in rows, as if she had never seen glasses before.

"Have you never seen glasses before?" He finally asked.

Seraphita looked up at him and shook her head slowly. "Not really. Master told me about them, though he never showed us the real one."

Before Kurapika could ask who her master was, the lady had come back with a set of contact lens. Kurapika handed them to her and asked her to wear it straight away, but the girl just stared at it, her eyes shone with puzzlement.

"Right, you don't know what glasses are, of course you don't know how to put on contact-lens." Kurapika grinned, stifling a laugh.

"Hey!" She protested with a pout and snatched the box from Kurapika's hands. She marched to the bathroom with determination to show that she _knew_ how to handle contact-lenses.

"Wait, I'm sorry! Let me show you how to do it." Kurapika hurriedly ran after her, afraid that she would spoil the contact-lens. The lady giggled as she heard them bickering in the toilet over the contact lenses. _What a cute couple, _she thought.

In the end, Kurapika won the argument and he would help her put on one of the lenses. He demonstrated how to cleanse the lenses, and told her to keep them moist at all times. He held Seraphita's eyelid to put on the lenses, but as soon as the lenses got too near, she would instinctively blinked and jerked her head back until her casquette cap fell over. This happened repeatedly that Kurapika's patience was wearing thin.

"Will you just stay still?" He made her stand with her back against the wall so that she could not jerk back when he was about to put on the lens. Seraphita whined, but nonetheless obliged.

Seraphita's cat ears fidgeted nervously as Kurapika was putting the lens on her eye. Just as Kurapika finally managed to put on one lens, their faces were a mere inch away yet none of them realised the fact. Seraphita blinked several times, trying to have a feel of the contact lens on her eye. It stung and felt uncomfortable, making her eyes teary. Her cat ears perked up in annoyance. She peeked at the mirror to see her eyes, and was mildly surprised to see that one of her eyes had changed colour. She frowned at the mirror.

"I like my original colour better." She commented with her lips pursed.

"Well, you are born with it, of course it suits you best. But you can't help it, if you don't want to attract attention _and _troubles, you better wear those when you go out." Kurapika said with his I-know-it-all attitude. "Let's see how you handle this on your own."

Kurapika handed her the lens and told her to put it on. After much struggles and re-tries, Seraphita managed to properly put on the lens. It continued with Kurapika's lecture on how to take care of the lenses, how to preserve them, how to keep them clean, and others, while they exited the shop. The optician did not stop grinning as she waved goodbye at them.

"Gee, you nag like a grandmother, Kurpika-san." Seraphita complained after a while. Her ears were getting how with his endless lecture.

"Don't call me grandmother! I'm only 17!" Kurapika exclaimed with a purely shocked expression. Seraphita laughed at his expression.

"By the way, thanks for the lens. You don't have to pay for me, you know." She said while glancing at the paper box she was carrying.

"Don't mind it. Take it as a compensation for what my boss has done to you." He waved his hands impatiently. They walked slowly side by side, strolling down the busy lanes of the mall.

"You even let me escape." She pouted. When she was held captive in the Nostrad Mansion, she had attempted to escape when she felt Shekinah calling after her, when the older sister had found Kuroro. Just before she broke the window, Kurapika caught her on the act. Instead of confining her, he purposely walked away and said: _"I didn't visit you tonight."_

"Are you unhappy about it now?" He challenged her.

"No, I'm grateful for it. I could come to my sister's aid on time because you that." She gave him a big smile.

"Speaking of which, I'm curious about your ability. That's a unique ability." Kurapika glanced around and saw a café nearby. He gestured towards the café and Seraphita nodded.

"That's because I'm from Deus clan." She told him while settling down in the café. She ordered a mocha drink while he ordered a latte.

"You see, your Kurata clan is famous for your scarlet eyes, mine is our 'strange' ability. Everyone has different ability, but the foundation and the basis that governs those powers are the same: we can ask the spirits of nature to aid us." She explained.

Kurapika nodded, trying to digest the information.

"For example, the night I escaped from the mansion, I rode the wind to reach my sister's place fast, remember?"

Kurapika remembered that after the girl opened the window and muttered something, a strong gust of wind blew into the room, yet he could feel that the wind was no ordinary wind. It felt alive, as if it had its own mind.

"You said something before the wind came. Is that sort of a summon word?"

"Kind of. The words were not necessarily had to be spoken out loud, since my mind was already connected to the spirits of wind. I just like to say it." She grinned. "It's an ability unique to my clan, we call it Words of Power. But not everyone can control all kind of spirits. Each one is assigned to an element of nature which one can govern. Let's say you are assigned to Beasts, so you can control all spirits of animals, but you cannot control spirits of plants."

The waiter came and delivered their order. Kurapika took this chance to re-process the information what Seraphita had just given her. A question popped in his mind.

"What about you, Seraphita-san? What is your element?"

"Oh, drop that formality. Call me Sera, that's enough." She said while putting down her cold mocha drink. She licked her lips briefly, as if contemplating on her answer. "And to answer your question, well believe it or not, I can control almost all."

Kurapika's fingers almost slip and drop his mug but fortunately he held on to it. He forgot his initial intention to drink his latte and instead he stared at her as if she had grown another head. Seraphita fidgeted uncomfortably under his intense stare.

"Well, not all…" She added with small voice. "My sister governs another element that I don't."

"Which is?" Kurapika asked with too much eagerness.

Seraphita shrunk to her seat and forced a weak smile. She almost regretted having mention about her elements and her sister's. Oh, how her sister would scold her with delight if she ever knew that she had told him this much.

"I control everything with body, while she controls all the bodiless."

Kurapika felt like fainting

***

_I must be dreaming_, he thought. He pressed his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to clear his head and to drive away any clouds in his minds. When he opened his eyes again, there the girl was, sitting just in front of him nervously, her hands clasped together in ill anticipation.

"Kurapika-san? Are you okay?" She asked with small voice.

"Bodiless as in…ghosts?" He ignored her concerns and pressed on with his questions.

"Hmm…Sort of. She deals with minds, souls, spirits… You know, the abstract stuffs."

Kurapika breathed slowly. Suddenly, upon the mention of bodiless being, he remembered the weight on his shoulder. As if answering to their cue, the sounds of metals chains being dragged echoed in his mind ears. Slowly, fuzzy images of two of his victims hovered about him. The malicious grins on their faces haunted him. The air around him suddenly became so heavy, so suffocating. Beads of cold sweats started to form on his temple and forehead. Kurapika closed his eyes to avoid the deathly gaze of those ghosts. However, the more he closed his eyes, the more he was sucked into the darkness of his mind. Their sinister chuckles swirled in the darkness, threatening to crack his mind.

"Kurapika-san?" A gentle touch snapped him back to reality.

Kurapika jolted slightly and looked up. The seat in front of him was empty. He glanced to his right, to find the girl bending over him, her small hand on his tense shoulder. A look of pure worry was embedded on her childish face.

"Kurapika-san, are you okay? You are terribly pale." She asked again, her voice almost a whisper. She touched his sweating forehead with the tip of her fingers lightly.

Kurapika did not answer, but merely stared to the space. His eyes moved around, searching for the ghosts, and there he found them, snickering at his misery. If only they were solid, he would have delivered some punches to them. Seraphita noticed the frantic look in his oceanic blue eyes, and her worried face softened a bit. She murmured something under her soft breath while her fingers never left his forehead.

Suddenly, a surge of comforting warmth surrounded him like blanket. Inside him, the warmth flowed as if he had drunk a cup of brandy. His tense muscles relaxed, and his erratic heartbeat calmed down. Kurapika marvelled at the sensation. It was a feeling that he had not experienced for a long time. The ache for warmth and comfort, it had dulled since recent events, but they bloomed again. He remembered his best friends; Gon, Killua, and Leorio. He wondered how they were doing.

"Sorry…" The girl next to him murmured as she retrieved her hand. Her eyes were cast down to the floor.

"Why?" Kurapika blinked as he was surprised with the sudden apology.

"I breached your privacy. I've just used Words of Power on you, to calm you down. You seem so stressed and tense, I couldn't help it."

Kurapika gawked. "So that's your doing?"

"I'm sorry…but yes." She ducked her head lower. Suddenly she heard chuckles, and then stifled laughs, and soon an open laugh. She took a peek from under her bangs, puzzled with the turns of events.

"Sera, you don't have to apologise. I didn't expect you to be able to do that. I thought you said your sister deals with the bodiless."

"I did. But what I did to you just now has nothing to do with 'bodiless'. I commanded your body; the muscles and tissues, to relax." She explained with confusion still in her eyes.

"Then there's nothing to worry about." Kurapika finally managed to stop laughing. "Sit down and drink you mocha. I feel better now."

"Really?" Her face lit up.

Kurapika nodded with confidence. After weeks of glooms and distress, this was the first time he smiled freely again. The last time was when he was reunited with his best friends. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and after flashing an apology to Seraphita, Kurapika answered the call.

"Senritsu? What's wrong?"

[_Ah, Kurapika? Where are you? We are leaving soon_.] The female voice answered from the other end of the line.

"So soon? I thought she usually spends more time than this."

A sigh was heard from the receiver. [_You know her, Kurapika. Since she lost her power, she can't stay still and her moods fluctuate. She demands to go back home now, or else she'll throw tantrum_.]

"We don't want that." Kurapika said grimly. "Okay, I will be coming soon." Kurapika hung up, sighed as he put his phone back to his pocket.

"Emergency?" Seraphita asked while drinking the rest of her mocha.

"Not really. The _princess_ wants to go home now." Kurapika took another sip of his latte and stood up. "I must go."

"Okay. I'll stay here for a while more." Seraphita flashed him a toothy grin, which amused Kurapika.

"See you around." Kurapika gave a polite nod and walked towards the door when Seraphita called out at him.

"Kurapika?"

"Yes?" The said teenage boy turned around and waited.

"Let go of your hatred. Or else the ghosts of your past will never release you." She said it in such a solemn manner that Kurapika had to catch the seriousness and the weight of her words. He caught another emotion in her eyes. It was…sorrow? She smiled sympathetically at him.

"My advice as a friend: Stop chasing after the Ryodan."

***

* * *

_**Author's Note**: Seraphita seems like a really good girl here, doesn't she? Poor Kurapika, haunted by ghosts... But I really do think that it's his own fault, for letting himself to be haunted._

_**Next**: Shekinah brought Kuroro back to the time of their first meeting 10 years ago, until the time they parted ways with a promise that Kuroro had forgotten._


	4. Chapter 4 : Brief Time

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Hunter x hunter, only Seraphita and Shekinah and their summons._

_**Introduction**: This chapter is about the childhood past of the two sisters, where they first met Kuroro somewhere near the Ryuusei-gai; the Shooting Star City. The identity of their master is revealed here._

_**

* * *

**_

_**CHAPTER 4: Brief Time**_

"Nee-saaaaan…Where are you??" Her sobs muffled her words into incoherent mumbles. Tears wetted the 6 years-old round face, while she walked aimlessly amidst the wild greeneries. She wanted to just stop and wail, just cry and cry. However, her Master's voice echoed in her head incessantly.

_Never show people your weakness, never cry in front of them. You are strong, Sera_.

With effort, Seraphita swallowed the impending wails and kept fighting her way across the thick bushes. She kept scratching her arms, insects swarming around her, feeding on her greedily. She tried to shoo them way, but they always came back. Despairingly, she kept calling her sister's name. Just as she was about to give up and just slumped on to the ground, she felt a faint brush of energy. Seraphita's golden eyes shone with renewed energy and her snowy cat ears flipped with alertness. She felt the thin energy, and recognised it as Shekinah's aura. Jubilant to know that her older sister was somewhere nearby, Seraphita broke into a run and shouted out Shekinah's name. Just as she raced on, with her sensitive cat ears she heard the muffled sound of the grass being trampled. She knew that she was close.

"Sera!" She finally heard her sister's voice. With tears of joy, Seraphita increased her speed and ran towards Shekinah.

Shekinah's face was full of relief that she finally found her little sister. However, seconds later her face seemed to be drained of blood and her mouth gaped. Behind Seraphita, a tree leopard was preying on the little girl. From its gait, Shekinah knew that it would jump and pounce on her dear little sister any time. Fuelled with fear and anguish, Shekinah forced her already exhausted body towards Seraphita.

"Sera! Run faster! Don't look behind!" She yelled frantically.

Then, it was all blurry. The two sisters dashed towards each other. The tree leopard gave a hungry snarl. It jumped from the tree, aiming for the younger one. Shekinah grabbed Seraphita's shoulders and pushed her out of the way. They stumbled together. The tree leopard's razor-sharp claws tore into Shekinah's upper arm, ruining her white sleeve. Her scream filled the wild forest.

"Nee-san! Nee-san!!" Terrified, Seraphita started crying again as her older sister's blood flowed freely from the gashing cut on her thin arm. The wound was gaping open, revealing raw flesh. Shekinah's scream had turned into painful sobs. Her face was deathly pale and tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably. She clutched her bloody arm with her good one. The pain was burning her entire arm.

The ferocious growl of the beast petrified Seraphita. She stared at the feline with her big round eyes, they were glassy with her tears. She wanted to shout, wanted to shoo away the big bad cat, but her voice was locked in her throat. She wanted to call their master, but she lost her ability of speech. Her snowy cat ears went flat on her twilight hair in fear. The leopard was coming closer and closer to them, its feline eyes gleamed hungrily at them. Seraphita started to whine in fear, her petite body shrinking close to Shekinah's prone body. Shekinah, with her remaining strength, braced herself and draped her good arm around Seraphita's body, intending to use her body as the shield. She shot the leopard a glare, the most intense one she could muster. But the beast did not budge.

Just as the leopard was about to pounce, the tree next to it shook mildly, and suddenly a loud rustle of leaves was heard from above them. Before anyone notice, someone had jumped from the tree towards the leopard. Caught off guard, the leopard did not have time to avoid the direct collision. The person landed on its back, and before the animal could retaliate, its throat was slashed with one quick movement of hand. The next second, the threat was lying motionless on the dirt.

Seraphita was ready to scream again. The person who had just killed the leopard straightened up and loomed over them. He blocked the sunlight so she was unable to see his face. Fresh blood dripped from the switchblade to the dry leaves. The silhouette seemed to be so intimidating for the little girl, that she could not help but to tremble violently. Like a scared mice, she hid behind her older sister. The only thing that she was aware of the person was that it was a man. The said man took a step forward towards them, but Shekinah scowled at him.

"Don't get any closer!" She barked at him, trying to sound brave. In fact, she was trembling. The man stopped and she knew that he was smiling amusedly although she could not see his face clearly.

"Who are you?"

"Excuse me? That is supposed to be _my_ question. What are you two little girls doing in this forest at the edge of Ryuusei-gai?" The man asked back. He had a pleasantly baritone voice. There was still childishness in his voice, which meant that he was still a teenager. He flicked his switchblade to get rid of the dripping blood, and his gesture made Seraphita flinched visibly, while Shekinah cringed. He grinned when he saw their reaction. "This is no playing ground. Go back to where you belong to."

"We would've done it earlier if we know the way. We are separated from our master." Shekinah answered him rudely. Her wounded arm was throbbing badly, and apparently it showed from her face. The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Let me see your arm." He approached them as he wiped the blood from his switchblade with a big leaf and pocketed it into his trousers in a trained manner. Seraphita gave a yelp, and Shekinah tensed up, but nevertheless she let him took her torn arm and examined it briefly. The cut was at least an inch deep, and she was losing a lot of blood. The side of her dress had been dyed crimson with her fresh blood, and he could see that she had turned ghostly pale. He then looked up and seemed to be glancing around the jungle, looking for something. Finally, he took Shekinah by her good arm and helped her to her feet.

"Can you walk?" He asked the wounded girl. Shekinah nodded weakly. He the wordlessly dragged her along with him, though not roughly.

"Where are you taking my sister?" Seraphita started frantically, her small fists clinging to the hem of the person's shirt.

"Relax, kid. I'm bringing her to the nearest stream. Her cut needs to be cleaned otherwise it will get infection, and certainly you don't want that." Shekinah nodded at Seraphita, telling her to follow. The boy walked in her pace across the forest, and was surprised to find the two sisters doing so well in traversing the forest floor. He had thought that they were the well-brought-up daughters of some rich families from outside Ryuusei-gai.

They walked in silence, and soon enough they emerged from the canopy of the forest into a clearing with a clean stream nearby. He brought Shekinah to the rim of the small river and ripped off what remained of her torn sleeve. He dipped the piece of clothe into the cold water and dabbed the wound with it. Shekinah gasped in pain but bit her lower lip to contain the pain. The boy saw it and smiled amusedly. When he was done with the cleaning part, he rummaged in his pockets and fished out some herbs. He crushed some with his fingers to extract the juices. He applied the juices on the wound, and bandaged the wound with the long piece of cloth that he ripped from _her_ skirt, with her permission.

"I don't understand why you girls still wear skirts when you are going into a forest. That is most unpractical." He had said, and Shekinah just responded with a huff.

When he was done tending her wounded arm, he told them to stay under the shade at the rim of the forest as he went back into the forest. The two sisters complied, as they both saw no other better options. As they sat down under the shade of a tree, Seraphita stared at her sister's arm. Her cat ears were still flat on her head.

"Does it still hurt?" She asked innocently.

"A bit, but it's much better." Shekinah smiled at her warmly.

Soon enough, they heard loud rustles from the nearby bushes and both stood with alert. Seraphita's cat ears stood in anticipation, while Shekinah positioned herself in front of her little sister as shield. The boy from earlier emerged from the bushes, dragging something behind him.

"Why the fierce look? I just went to retrieve a forgotten baggage." He chuckled. As he fully emerged from the bushes, both sisters gasped in fear as they saw him dragging the carcass of the slain beast from earlier. For someone who looked so thin, he was able to drag the huge beast with such ease.

"The skins of tree leopards fetch quite a good price in the city. I happened to be hunting this particular one when it decided to target your little sister there as his lunch." He explained as he dragged the unmoving body to the stream. He took out his switchblade and started to skin the dead beast expertly. Much to Shekinah's consternation, she knew that he had done the job many times to reach that level of expertise.

"So it was just a coincidence that you saved us?" Shekinah relaxed a bit.

"Purely a coincidence. After all, Ryuusei-gai people are always suspicious of outsiders." He gave her a knowing grin.

"You are from Ryuusei-gai."

"Obviously." He shrugged and turned back to his task. The thick stench of blood spread around the area like poisonous gas. The two girls snorted in disgust upon the assaulting stench. He laughed. "You get used to it once you live in Ryuusei-gai."

"It's that bad? I mean, life in Ryuusei-gai?" She had sat down again, with Seraphita still cowering behind her.

"You must see for yourself."

The conversation ended, and he continued his work in silent. Shekinah stared at him. Now that he was under direct sunlight, she could see him better. He was wearing dark practical pants with many pockets and leather belt with small bags around his thin waist. He wore a pair of slightly worn leather boots and his sleeveless shirt was black. She deduced that it was meant for blending with the surrounding in the forest. He had messy dark hair, and his skin was strangely pale for a hunter like him. After he finished skinning the beast, he washed the bloody fur in the stream and the water turned crimson. Shekinah narrowed her purple eyes in distaste. She hated blood. The boy took out the now clean fur and draped it over the ground to dry it. He washed his bloody hands on the stream and dried them carelessly with his shirt.

From distant, she saw him glancing over them, and then towards the bloody mess of the once-a-tree-leopard. He covered his mouth with his hand and frowned. She saw him shrugging, and then he went into the forest again without saying anything. Shekinah threw a wary glance at the bloody carcass. The stench was overwhelming, and a look at her little sister told her that she was not doing well with the stench. She decided to move several feet away from the source of the disgusting smell, but still settled under the shade of the trees. Again, they waited there for the boy to come back.

"Where's master?" Seraphita finally spoke again after a long silence on her part.

"He'll find us. If he can't find us, well, he's an incompetent Hunter, then." This made Seraphita giggled. "And we can tease him so to our heart's content!"

"You two are mean disciples." The boy emerged from the bushes behind them. This time, he had a small bundle in his hands. His sudden arrival startled the two girls and their faces were so horror-stricken that he smirked.

"Here." He handed them the bundle. Shekinah took it gingerly with her good arm and opened it. It was overflowing with abundant berries, nuts, and fruits. The boy settled down in front of them, but Seraphita inched away from him, her cat ears flat on her head.

"I don't bite, kid." He said with amused expression. As he looked at the little girl, there was a glint in his dark eyes. He leaned forward to take a better look at her. "I notice that you two have unusual colours of eyes. And those on your head…"

Before Seraphita could even flinch, he was already fingering her snow cat ear curiously, his speed trained from years of practice. The little girl yelped and ducked her head, trying to get his fingers off her cat ears. She quickly scooted to hide behind Shekinah, who sighed.

"Don't do that. It scares her." She said as she picked a berry and popped one into her mouth. She picked another one and handed it to Seraphita. "You said Ryuusei-gai people are suspicious of outsiders. So why are you here? Why helped me with my arm in the first place?" She turned to look at him straight in the eyes. He liked those eyes. They were honest and strong-willed.

"Why, I wonder?" He gave her a grin and rested his chin on his palm. "Why do you think?"

"Don't ask me back my question." She retorted in annoyance with a pout.

Before the boy could say anything back, a brush of energy swept over the area. Seraphita's sensitive cat ears jolted up and she looked up in alert, much like a kitten. Shekinah turned towards the same direction that Seraphita was looking to. Shekinah could feel the subtle Nen since she was already exposed to Nen, but Seraphita relied on her keen hearings. There was a faint rustle of bushes from distant. The boy, on the other hand, had jumped to his feet and triggered his switchblade. To Shekinah's surprise, he looked wary and alert, as if bracing himself for a sudden attack.

"Master!" Seraphita squealed with joy and jumped to her feet as she saw a man emerging from the bushes some feet away from their spot. The next second she already gave the man a bone-crushing embrace and she started her tirade of stories of their earlier experience. Shekinah smacked her forehead with her hand.

"Relax, he is our master." Shekinah told the boy gently, whom she had noticed standing so rigid and tense. She looked at him with calculating eyes. Normal kids unexposed to Nen would not have detected his presence at the same time as she did, but the boy showed otherwise.

"I see." He replied curtly. He pocketed his switchblade but he still looked at the man warily.

"Shelke, are you alright?" Their master, a considerably young man, approached them with Sera tailing behind him. He had spiky black hair and he wore green travelling robe. The boy backed away while Shekinah took a step forward until he was a step behind her. Shelke was a nickname their master gave her. He said that their names were too long to pronounce at all times, and while Sera sounded fine for Seraphita, Shek just sounded too weird and ugly. So, he twisted the name into Shelke.

"I'm better. He tended to my wound." She gestured to her back. With a quick movement, the man moved to inspect her wounds. With his Nen, he quickened the healing of the wounds.

"The boy just now? He did it well. Tell me exactly what had happened. Sera's version is just too confusing." He said while throwing Seraphita a teasing glance, which she received with a mean pout.

"Just now? But he is still—" Shekinah turned around, only to see the boy had disappeared. "Where—"

"He dived into the forest when you were not looking." The man laughed as he saw her bewildered expression. "Well, can't blame him. Ryuusei-gai people are always suspicious of outsiders, anyway."

"Oh…" Disappointment coloured her voice. "And I didn't even ask for his name."

***

"_Shelke, I'm going up ahead. You catch up as soon as possible with Sera, okay?" With that, the man sprinted ahead and disappeared. _

"Gee, what made him hurry? He can just walk at our pace, it won't kill him." Shekinah grumbled, but nonetheless made her way towards the direction that her master had indicated. Behind her, Seraphita followed along.

Soon enough, she heard voices ahead, and she recognised one as her master's. She pulled Seraphita forward and increased her pace. Just as she emerged from the bushes that separated her from her master, the first thing she saw was her master flinging someone by his arm towards the tree. The poor man hit the tree with a loud thud, and he crumpled to the ground.

"MASTER!!" Shekinah yelled.

"Ops…" Her master put a hand on his mouth, his face bore a guilty expression. "Sorry, I forgot myself."

"What have you done?!" Shekinah let go of Seraphita and rushed towards the man that her master had thrown. "Are you—YOU!"

The man had lifted himself up with a groan of pain, and when he looked up, Shekinah recognised him as the boy who had rescued her the other day. He shot her master a heated glare, but said nothing. He stood up with a stagger and poised in fighting stance.

"What—What is happening here?!" Shekinah demanded, not understanding the hostility that the boy emitted towards her master.

"You see…I sensed that he was nearby, so I rushed to catch up with him. I just wanted to thank him…"

"And how come it ended up in this mess?" Shekinah put her hands on her hips and her purple eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Ah…Well…The other day he could sense my Nen, so I was curious. I wanted to test him and…" the man ducked his head with guilt to escape her glare.

The boy meanwhile looked at Shekinah with amazement. He blinked twice as he witnessed the little girl berating the man and how he was so submissive. Seraphita skipped her way to him and looked up to him. When he glanced down at her, she smiled a toothy grin.

"Don't worry. They are always like this." She said cheerfully.

"Always?"

"Always." She nodded. Her golden eyes gleamed at him, and he did not understand why. He did not understand her sudden change in attitude towards him. The other day she was so scared stiff of his presence, and now there she was, standing right next to him and staring at him. She kept staring at him with her big eyes, until he could not take it anymore.

"Something on my face?" He asked with masked annoyance.

"Mm-hmm. Nothing." She shook her head and her twilight hair danced around her face. Suddenly, without any prior notification, the girl ran to him and hugged him. "I just want to say thank you to nii-san."

With the sudden contact, the boy froze. He looked at the little girl with what could be interpreted as a look of horror. Shekinah saw it and she gaped. She ran towards them and peeled Seraphita off from the still boy, and kept apologising to him for her rude action. The man observed them with amusement, and suddenly an idea popped in his head.

"Say, as my gratitude for saving their lives, why don't I teach you basics of Nen? You obviously have great potential, it's a waste not to harness them." He grinned smugly.

"Trully, master?" Shekinah's face lit up. Her master nodded confidently.

"What say you?" He asked the boy. The boy seemed to be thinking hard. The idea of learning appealed him.

"Deal." His mouth formed a thin smile.

"Great! Now, I need your name." The man approached the boy and stood just in front of him.

"Kuroro Lucifer." The man nodded and grinned. He offered a handshake.

"Ging Freecss."

***

Days passed by and a new arrangement was made. Ging would teach him Nen everyday, and when Ging was out doing his stuff, Kuroro would have to keep an eye on the sisters. Kuroro would take them to the jungles and showed them a lot of things. Of all the places in the city, they hated the garbage dump the most. The stench was unbearable for them. Shekinah had almost fainted when Kuroro told her that he used to scavenge for living in the garbage dump when he was younger, but then he switched job to hunting the tree leopard and selling the skin since it was more profitable. He also had to train to escape from or fight against the lazy adult thugs who preferred to rob the more productive kids rather than earning the money themselves, aside from trying to survive while hunting the tree predators. That explained his strength, skills, and speed; which Ging had complimented during their physical trainings. They also stayed at his quarter in the city, although the sisters would prefer sleeping in the open. They said that the woods were cleaner, and since they grew up in settlements that were located in jungle, they were used to sleeping in woods.

_That explains why they can move at ease in the forest_, Kuroro thought. He had been surprised to find that Ging was only 6 years older than him. Ging had laughed when he found out that Kuroro was 16 years-old.

"I thought you were younger than that." He had said. Kuroro could not blame him since he indeed had a baby face.

"Nii-san, I'm hungry." Seraphita called out at him. He had felt strange when the little girl called him so, since nobody had called him that in his entire life. Well, he had never had a family, nor siblings. He did not know his parents, but he did not care about it. He was fine on his own.

"You can eat the berries there. They are edible." Kuroro pointed at the bushes with ripe berries all over them. Seraphita happily ran towards the berries and gobbled them down, her cat ears flicked with happiness.

While waiting for her to finish, Kuroro sat down on a fallen tree trunk. Shekinah sat down next to him. Kuroro looked at the young girl and observed her. She seemed more mature than her age, and more composed. She told him that she was only 10 years-old. Ging had mentioned to him in one of their sessions that the sisters had encountered some very bad experiences, but the younger one might not probably remembered anything, but Shekinah remembered everything vividly. In a way, she was traumatised.

"What happened to you and your sister?" He asked, curious.

Shekinah turned to face him and blinked, not understanding his question.

"Before Ging took you in." He clarified his question.

"Oh." She seemed surprised now with his question. She looked back to her little sister, who was still enjoying her 'snack'. Her eyes narrowed with sorrow and they became distant. When she sat in silence for some time, Kuroro felt that he had asked the wrong question.

"Our clan was massacred. We are the only survivors." Suddenly Shekinah answered. Her voice was solemn. Kuroro's dark eyes grew big in surprise. Now he was sure that he had asked the wrong question. Unable to say anything, his gaze fell to the earthen dirt.

He never brought up the subject again, except for one occasion. With the two constantly with him, he started to feel as if he now had siblings to look after. For a fleeting moment, he experienced how it felt to have a family. Seraphita was like a spoiled little sister to him, while Shekinah was…well, to say that she was like a little sister to him was a bit off. She liked reading books that he had collected, and they always ended up arguing about a lot of things from the books. She had been mortified to know that some of them were stolen books. They would then launch into another session of debate on moral issue. He had argued that with such living condition in Ryuusei-gai, thefts had been daily occurrence, and for the same reason he never allowed them to venture the city on their own.

***

"Why don't you come along with us, Kuroro?" Shekinah offered, her tone hopeful.

The contentment of having a new family only lasted for a month. Ging announced that he was leaving the Ryuusei-gai, taking the two sisters along. He had been disheartened when he heard this, but he did not openly show his disappointment.

"I don't know about that." Kuroro said with small voice, his dark eyes cast down. Truth was he did not dare to venture out of Ryuusei-gai yet. He knew that Ryuusei-gai people were treated as outsider by the world and they were always alienated. He did not feel ready to go outside yet. He felt a warm touch on his hands, and looked up to see the girl smiling gently at him, her hands on his.

"Think about it carefully first. I'm not forcing you. Master, Sera, and I will be preparing our departure near the stream in the forest. Come and tell us your decision before evening passes today."

She then left him alone in his room to mull about her offer.

***

He stumbled over the bushes, but made it in time. She was waiting for him, and was visibly delighted to see him. She stood up, while he walked over to her. He stopped just in front of her, his dark eyes penetrating deep into her bright purple eyes. She did not even reach his shoulder, his chest was to her eye level.

"So what's your decision?" She inquired.

"I can't come with you." He answered firmly. "Because I want to be strong first. People outside Ryuusei-gai tend to alienate and shun us away. I want to be able to defend myself on my own before I go to that world."

Shekinah gazed at him with unreadable expression. It was a mixture of sadness, approval, and slight disappointment. The smile did not waver from her lips.

"If that is what you think is best for you…" She murmured as she cast her eyes down. "But promise me something, Kuroro."

She looked up at him again, a hopeful look set in her amaranthine eyes. Kuroro looked into those eyes. He liked their shine, so full of life and wisdom that was uncommon for girls her age.

"Promise me that even after this, we will still be a family."

Her request took him by surprise. He had _wished_ that they were siblings, family, but he had never expected that she already took him as a family. He stared at her with wonderment.

"Promise?" She asked again, and it sounded almost like a plea.

His visage softened and he smiled a genuine smile; which he rarely did even when the sisters were around. Kuroro usually had his 'business' smile on, no his genuine smile. He reached to his pocket and fished out an item. He took one of her hands and placed the item gently on her open palm. When he drew back his hands, Shekinah spotted something shiny on her palm. It was a cross earring.

"I promise, and it will be the reminder of our promise." He said gently to her.

Tears threatened to trickle down her pale cheeks. At loss of words, she nodded with closed eyes and clutched the earring to her chest, as if it was her treasure. Kuroro reached out and ruffled her silvery hair affectionately. A gesture that he was even surprised he was capable of.

"Promise."

***

* * *

_**Author's Note**: Actually, it takes a lot of re-reading and revising this chapter, because I wasn't sure of Kuroro's personality in his teenage year, not to mention his past. So I decided to make him an orphan. In this chapter, he hasn't even thought of forming the Genei Ryodan yet, and hasn't known any of the original members. I wanted to make him a charismatic kid, so I decided to make him rather 'approachable' yet wary of his surroundings, although at first I made him a serious kid. Also, I want to show him as a teenager who really knows how to handle things and to take care of things on his own, while at the same time daring to take a great risk; like earning his livings by hunting down tree leopards. I hope nobody will murder me for making Ging as the sisters' master and the one who taught Nen to Kuroro. If Gon found this out, he'd be super mortified. Rather ironic, isn't it?_

_**Next**: Seraphita and Shekinah finally managed to liberate Kuroro's Nen from restrictions with their Deus abilities, and Kuroro started contemplating of reqruiting them as Spiders members as they displayed their combat abilities. Seraphita sought after Kurapika, and spirited him to a secluded beach. There, they began a conversation, which led to a shocking revelation._


	5. Chapter 5 : Survivors

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own hunter x hunter, only Seraphita and Shekinah (so far)_

_**Story so far: **Kuroro now remebered a piece of his past that he spent with the two sisters. However, although he remembered them, he did not know them personally. They were separated for 10 long years, and the girls were not exactly as he remembered in his memories. After they liberated Kuroro's Nen, Seraphita went looking for Kurapika. There was something that bothered her about him, but things went downhill and Shekinah appeared before Kurapika to break a really terrible news._

_

* * *

_

_**CHAPTER 5: Being The Last Surviving Deus**_

"_Sera, come here. We need you._" Her voice resounded in her mind like a ripple of water.

"_Oh? Finish already?_" Seraphita answered back with her mind voice.

"_Yes. I want to exorcise the 'snake'_."

"_Okay, I'm coming right away._" She replied cheerfully.

"_Good. But before that, Sera, please fix them before you leave. Kuroro, and certainly me, won't be so pleased with what you've done._" She added with stern voice.

Seraphita cringed as she heard the underlying reprimand in her sister's voice. She looked around and sighed. It had not been her fault, yet she wanted her to fix them. What a bother.

The Genei Ryodan members, notably Nobunaga, Machi, Phinks, and Feitan, were frozen on their spot. Machi's arms had been severed, but she had sealed the wound with her Nen to stop the bleeding. Nobunaga and Feitan had their swords taken by her, while their clothes were all tattered. Seraphita, on the other hand, only suffered from a small cut on her arm. It had healed in the instant. They all shot her their murderous glare, which she received with only a shake of head and a sigh. She had exited the mall, strolled down the street to kill time while waiting for Shekinah to finish her business, when they approached her. More appropriately, Phinks had come to flirt with her, but they noticed her. Challenge for fight ensued, and it ended up in this mess. They had come after her, and she was trying to defend herself only.

"_And fix her arms!_" Shekinah added with commanding tone, before she retreated from Seraphita's mind. Again, she sighed.

"Fine, fine." She mumbled to herself. Seraphita let her aura encompassed her, never releasing the Restriction spell she had put on them. She put the swords in front of their respective owners, and she proceeded to Machi, who shot her the nastiest glare she could muster.

"I'm sorry for that, okay? Here, let me fix you." Seraphita shrugged and picked up her severed arms.

She felt resistance from her arms and she rolled her eyes in exasperation. Cooperating with her would be the last thing the stubborn woman would do, it seemed. Forcing her Nen to drive away Machi's Nen, she made an opening and reattached the severe arms. As she put them in the correct position, her golden eyes shimmered even brighter, and Machi, to her horror, felt her flesh throbbing and moving on its own. Her bones, the tissues, the muscles, the flesh; everything reattached themselves. Soon enough, her arms were back to its original form.

"Done, done, done." Seraphita mumbled as she approached every one of them and healed their cuts and bruises.

"And done!" She exclaimed as she finished mending Phinks' bleeding temple, which she had cut with her claws. "Now, time for me to go. Bye-bye!"

With that, she hopped to the roof of the nearest building and started roof-hopping towards where Shekinah was waiting for her. The healed Genei Ryodan members stared at her with disbelief, until the Restriction spell was lifted from them.

"Damn, that girl is a monster!" Nobunaga swore. He felt ashamed to have been beaten by a girl.

"No wonder she is acquaintance to Danchou." Machi murmured while examining her arms. There was no scar on where the girl had cut off her arms. Feitan and Phinks said nothing, since they truly had nothing to say against that girl. They were totally defeated by her.

"Did you see her eyes when she fought with us?" Phinks suddenly asked on their way back to their hideout.

"Huh? What's with her eyes?" Nobunaga said, clueless as ever.

"They turned metallic grey."

***

Shekinah put her hand on her forehead and sighed. She knew that Seraphita had fought with the Genei Ryodan members, she could feel it. The rush of adrenaline in her sister, the excitement. The only people around that could give her that level of excitement in battle were only those people, nobody else. In a moment, she saw the scene from her sister's eyes, and was horrified to see that she had actually cut off the woman's arms. Good thing that Seraphita could reattach them, otherwise who knows how Kuroro would react about it.

"What's wrong?" Kuroro asked as they walked towards a solitary garden.

"Sera, she just fought." She answered heavily. Kuroro gave her a questioning look. She sighed again. "With your comrades."

Now Kuroro lifted an eyebrow. Why would the girl fight with his comrades? She was not the type who picked a fight, so it was probable that his subjects were the ones who picked the fight first. Who? Nobunaga came first into his mind, and then Phinks, and then Feitan. Those three were the hot-headed ones, and always rushed into action before thinking further. Kuroro wanted to sigh as well, for a different reason from Shekinah, but he held it.

A thin aura approached them. He recognised the aura and looked up. The wind suddenly blew around them, and a girl landed to the ground on her feet, her landing cushioned by the wind.

_The power of the Deus family_, Kuroro thought with marvel. Seraphita landed gracefully and soundlessly, stirring the dust slightly. She beamed at them upon arrival, but soon enough was met with Shekinah's scolding.

"And did you fix them?" She asked with her narrowed to a dangerous slit.

"Of course, ma'am! I fixed them whole!" She snapped her hand into a salute.

"Honestly, you must have a better control of yourself." Shekinah shook her head.

"But they attacked me first!" She whined in self-defence. "The man with no eyebrows even tried to hit on me!"

_Phinks…_Kuroro thought with a roll of eyes. As the two sisters argued, Kuroro followed them from behind. He remembered again fragments of their brief time together 10 years ago in Ryuusei-gai. The two sisters always bickered incessantly, and he would either watch them with amusement, or tried to mediate. Inwardly he smiled, but he kept his mask of indifference.

"Let's start." Shekinah said as she turned to face him.

Answering to its cue, the black snake slithered from under Kuroro's coat. It blinked its ruby eyes to Shekinah, and then to Seraphita. He smelled the air with its tongue. Seraphita snorted in amusement at this.

"It's not even a real snake, yet act like one."

"Ready?" Shekinah ignored her comment. She reached out and touched the snake. The snake coiled itself to her arm, its eyes never moving away from her face.

"Anytime." Seraphita shrugged and rose up her hands. "_Phantasmal Beasts, you who are condemned to walk the earth on your belly, come to your summon_." Her golden eyes glowed like ember while her purplish Nen surged.

Again, like the time in the Spiders' hideout, a black hole appeared. This time, instead of the gigantic eagle, came a massive serpent. Its obsidian eyes glinted with power as it coiled its venomous green body around the much smaller girl.

_What is your command, mistress?_ The basilisk asked in its hiss. _Give me your order_.

Kuroro stood with his eyes wide open. He had never seen anything so fearsome, yet majestic. The snake had bright green scales that glinted as it moved about, its black eyes were the biggest onyx ever.

"Sera's Phantasmal Beasts can summon any kind of animals in their spirit forms. They are obliged to follow the orders she gives them, no matter how trivial or absurd they are." Shekinah explained to Kuroro.

"I see. Very impressive." Kuroro nodded in admiration.

"Hmph, of course. It's not an easy skill to obtain. She nearly lost her life in trying to master it. The first time she summoned her spirit, it had been a lion and it almost swallowed her whole." Shekinah snickered.

Kuroro chuckled at this thought. He could well imagine the younger girl horror-stricken as her summoned beast started to go against her. The basilisk moved about its head to take a peek at them. Shekinah stepped away and gestured at him to stay still.

"_Basilisk, lord of the snakes, take that underling of yours back to your world. That's my order._"

_As you wish_. With that, the basilisk slithered towards Kuroro. Before he could react, the gigantic serpent opened its massive jaw and bit the head of the black snake that was perched on his shoulder. With a snap, it swallowed the snake whole. After finishing its meal, the basilisk hovered around Kuroro and levelled its obsidian eyes to his eye level. Kuroro could see what could be perceived as a grin from the basilisk. Then, the snake retreated.

_It is done, mistress._ It hissed with satisfaction. Seraphita reached out to it and patted its jaw. She looked at Shekinah, who nodded in understanding. Shekinah approached the snake, and touched its belly with her pale hand. Her hands shimmered in silver, and it went into the snake's belly, without the snake flinching at all. When she drew back her hand, it was clutching something.

"_Well done, you may go back._" Seraphita kissed it under its eyes, and the snake retreated into the black hole and disappeared. Kuroro indulged in this first hand experience of actually witnessing the work of the rare Deus ability. The chance of seeing it nowadays was one to infinity.

Seraphita's Nen retracted and seeped back into the encasement of her body. Her liquid golden eyes turned into their normal gleams. She turned to Shekinah, who was staring into the thing she was holding in her hand. It hovered above her hand like a will-o-wisp. Kuroro looked at Seraphita, and then to Shekinah. Shekinah was blanketed by her silvery Nen, her purple eyes radiated a silvery glitters. She looked like she was in a trance, but Seraphita knew that she was deciphering the content of the will-o-wisp. After what seemed like eternity, Shekinah looked up and blinked. Her normal countenance returned, yet there was mixture of emotions in her eyes.

"Well?" Seraphita asked as the will-o-wisp vanished into thin air.

"The remnants of the Nen show that it's a Kuruta boy." She finally said, while turning to her. She looked at her little sister with meaningful eyes, searching for the slightest flinch, which she did spot in the end.

"Blond, blue eyes, with unbelievably intense hatred towards _this_ certain _criminal_." She said with emphasis on the two words with distaste and disapproval while jerking her head towards Kuroro, which he regarded with an amused grin.

"And what do we do now?" Seraphita shrugged the comment noncommittally.

"If you ask _me_, I would vouch to letting the boy live so as not to drive the Kuruta race to extinction for real now. That was what our clan had almost suffered from." Shekinah answered without batting an eyelid, as if her answer was obvious enough.

"But nii-san won't be pleased with that idea, will he?" Seraphita said while turning to Kuroro. She crossed her arms across her chest and pivoted her weight to one of her legs.

"Believe it or not, the Chain-user will come to hunt me down in a huff." Kuroro said after a while of thinking. He summoned his Nen and found it pleasing to have them encompassing him again with the familiar feeling that he had been denied for the past torturous weeks.

"Especially when he feels my Nen. I will wait and see how he will act, and we will react accordingly."

"Speaking of which…" Seraphita's keen cat ears flipped as she heard some faint voices from distance. "We have visitors."

Soon enough, proving her words to be true, they were surrounded by some men, whom they could take as the henchmen of some mafia family, by the looks of their smart, tailored suit and black glasses. So much for dressing up for a fight. When Seraphita turned around to look at their assaulters, she was dismayed to see a familiar face.

"Bitch, we meet again." One of the brutes mustered his wrathful grin.

"Yuck." Seraphita grimaced.

"You know him?" Shekinah stepped forwards to stand by her side. Her cool visage scanned the men with cold calculation, and irritation as the man called her sister 'bitch'.

"You're not gonna escape this time round." The big man gritted his teeth. "And I'll make sure you pay damn right for your tiny little surprise last time." Anger was practically seething out of his body.

"May I know what you've done last time, young lady?" Now Shekinah was giving Seraphita her renowned explain-now-or-I'll-squeeze-the-answer-right-out-of-you-in-the-most-unpleasant-manner glare. Complete with the acute accusation, alright. Seraphita could not help but to cringe from her hot glare.

"Well, they tried to capture me and I gave them…well, quite some retaliation." She grinned sheepishly at her. "_Which included a kick to a certain sensitive part._" She added in her mind. Shekinah rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Kuroro noticed that the men had not recognised him as the head of the notorious Genei Ryodan. It might be due to his most normal get up that he presently wore. He did not want to raise unnecessary attention to himself, since he had painstakingly faked his death several weeks ago. He still wanted to enjoy his freedom yet. If they discovered him, well he would just have to dispose of them. But that would raise a violent objection from a certain silver-haired young lady that he had for companion right now. As much as he regretted it, Shekinah had quite a strong sense of justice and morality.

"So what do we do about them? As far as I know, these people, and their boss, know that we are of Deus clan. They want us alive as some living artefacts. Get rid of them permanently, so they won't bother us in the near future? Or you want to fiddle with their mind?" Seraphita offered while she was visibly warming up her body for the impending and inevitable fights. _Looks like the younger sister is more akin to fights than the older one_, Kuroro mentally noted. How amusing, considering that the little sister used to be the scaredy-cat of the two. Things had changed a lot in the past 10 years.

"I'd prefer the less violent way, but I think it is inevitable now." Shekinah sighed as she craned her necks, warming up her muscles as well. Kuroro raised an interested eyebrow here. He had not thought that the delicate-looking girl would actually fight.

"Pull Loki out then." Seraphita grinned at her.

"Whatever." She commented dryly.

"Are we quite done here?" The man asked with increasing impatience. He cracked his knuckles and the veins on his temple were visibly throbbing out, like they could burst out in any given opportunity and provocation.

"Anytime, uncle." Seraphita teased him.

That was it, and hell broke loose. The man lunged with a furious and enraged battle cry, catch-them-alive order be damned, and in his small mind there was only one aim: to maim the impudent girl into puddle of gore. He had not noticed then, a fatal mistake in his part, that the girl had conjured a weapon out of thin air with her Nen. It was a long wooden bow, with hardness equal to steel. She swung the bow and it hit his broad chest straight, squeezing the air out of his lungs. The man grunted in pain and took some steps back. With expert moves, Seraphita swung the bow with her hand until it formed some disks complete with the swishing sound as it cleaved the air effortlessly. Shekinah sighed at her display of skill. _Show off_, she remarked bitingly.

Another man lunged towards her, whom he deemed as the more vulnerable and weak-looking among the three. Big mistake, though. In a fraction of second, Kuroro could feel the calculated surge of Nen engulfing the fragile looking girl. Her purple eyes went ablaze with anticipation and – was that excitement that he saw?

"_Pantheon; I called thee forth from thy slumber to serve me in my cause. Loki, come forth._" She briskly whispered under her breath, but Kuroro's keen hearing caught every single delicate word she murmured.

Out of the blue, suddenly Shekinah was already holding a pair of shiny metal guns in both of her hands. With trained precision, she trained one of them to the face of her soon-to-be-assaulters. She pulled the trigger without hesitation, and something exploded just in front of him. The attackers stopped in a skid as bluish cloud surrounded his head and he coughed in surprise. In a moment later, he dropped flat onto the concrete, which was soon followed by a loud snore.

"Sleeping gas?" Kuroro asked in surprise. Right, he should not have expected Shekinah to kill without hesitation, knowing her personality.

"In a large enough dose to knock his sense out for one whole week. Except if the dose is considered as overdose for his body." She added, but after a second of thought, shrugged nonchalantly. "Who cares? He can sleep forever for all I care."

_But she can be quite heartless, given the right time and situation_, he mused. He still had not moved from his spot, letting the girls to have their shares of fun. It was fun to watch them 'danced' anyway. He took a relaxed stance and continued to become the silent observer he was.

"There is no end to this, they keep coming." Seraphita huffed in annoyance, after fighting for some time.

"Then just finish them off in one shot." Shekinah offered while firing another round of sleeping gas to the poor victims, most who would have been overdosed.

_Boss, their resistances are pathetic,_ the guns, whom she had called Loki collectively, scoffed. Kuroro had been able to hear their voices, and it was a new experience for him alright.

"Can't blame them, Loki. Given their easy lives so far." Shekinah said gently to the guns.

_Still, it's boring_. It said again, vomiting another round of sleeping gas.

"If you don't want to participate in this boring fight, then that's fine. We'll let Sera handle the rest. How about it?"

_Good enough, I don't want to waste my bullets on these—_

"Loki." Shekinah gave a stern warning upon the impending foul language.

—_unworthy opponents_. It finally settled with a more subtle language, albeit still harsh. _I've had enough exercise, anyway_.

"Fine by me. Sera, you can handle it, right?" Shekinah called out to her sister, who was still having fun in the men's expense.

"Sure." She answered back, after breaking someone's arm. With that, Shekinah pulled back Loki and stepped behind to claim a position next to Kuroro.

"What is she up to?" Kuroro asked, his eyes curious on the younger girl.

"See for yourself. This is the result of years of trainings in honing our Deus abilities." Shekinah said with a wide smile.

Seraphita took her post in the middle of the circles that the men had made. She summoned forth her Nen, which enfolded her like golden transparent blanket. Her face dropped from the carefree smile to a revered expression.

"You may want to charge now." She called out to the men, tickling them into action.

Sensing the danger that the little girl was about to bring about them, the men charged at her in unison, all with their weapons ready to strike her down. However, those mundane weapons never met their targets.

"_Words of Power: Earth, swallow them._" Suddenly, Seraphita's golden eyes turned earthen brown.

Without any warning whatsoever, the earth below them gaped open, the earthen soil disappeared. Force to oblige by the law of gravity, all the men practically jumped into the black hole, and when all was in, the hole closed beneath her very feet. The crumpled bodies that they had beaten down earlier were swallowed up whole by the earth as well, leaving no traces of battle or whatever to betray their presence there.

"And that is the end of some, what, 20 men." Shekinah smirked.

Kuroro found that the two sisters never failed to make him admire their uncanny abilities. Rare abilities which no other clans in the world possessed. However, one thing that surprised him even more was Shekinah's rather blatantly uncaring attitude towards those men's death by their hands.

"Don't give me that look. Although I prefer not to kill, I don't mind ditching some lives permanently if they prove to be threats for our clan's survival. But I will greatly mind killing that involves bloodshed. I don't like getting my hands dirty." She explained as-a-matter-of-factly as she noticed Kuroro's curious glance at her.

"I've underestimated you then. My apology." Kuroro said with a small smile tugging his lips. Shekinah gave him a look.

"Well, you obviously haven't known us better yet." She said with a slightly hurt tone. She then turned away, refusing to look at him.

Deciding to drop the issue, since he knew that as time passed by he would be able to catch up with what he had missed about the two sisters, he turned to Seraphita. She had returned to her normal state, and was walking towards them with her normal gait as if dispatching some 20 men into earth's belly was common task for her. He began to believe that she would make a perfect candidate for Genei Ryodan.

***

If his frown of irritation could go even deeper, he would have formed some crevices on his face. There he stood, a few paces away from the garrulous, spoiled daughter of his mafia boss, spending insane amount cash on clothes and accessories alone. He had no idea why her dear father still let her on her shopping spree, considering that Neon had lost her ability, and thus her value as the gold mine of his father's business

A heavy sigh escaped his mouth for the umpteenth time for the day. The day could not stretch any slower, and he was already bored to death. He glanced around and caught some of the bodyguards yawned. Some even had their half closed, dozing off even in the noisy mall. He could not blame them, so he let them off this time.

"I want to go over there!" Neon exclaimed with her shrill voice, while her maid attendants hurried over to her side.

Kurapika envied the maids. At least their role was not as sufferable as theirs. Not to mention that his mood had been foul lately, thanks to a certain enigmatic girl who gave him cryptic messages and suddenly dropped a bomb to him: stop chasing after the Ryodan. Hah, like it was so easy to do.

He stifled a yawn and dazed to whatever was in front of him, half of his consciousness minding where annoyingly noisy girl was. So bored he was, that his mind started to wander off and he failed to notice the figure stalking him from behind, like a cat preying on a clueless bird. And then, it just came.

"KURAPIKAAAA!!!" A rich soprano voice rang in his ears, jolting the wits out of him. Before he could react, a pair of arms had been strung across his shoulders from behind. Kurapika tensed for a moment of second, but then he realized soon enough that he knew the voice. He felt an added weight on his back.

"YOU!" He bellowed to his assaulter.

Due to the ruckus he made, the bodyguards all tensed up while Neon and her attendants, who _unfortunately_ had been close by, spun around with bewilderment and curiosity. Kuraipka was known to be one of the most reticent and brooding bodyguards that Nostrad had. If anything could rile the boy up, this was the chance to see one; and Neon Nostrad would not miss it. As soon as she saw, and slowly grasped, of the situation, her curious face turned mischievous.

There, sticking to her overly serious bodyguard, was a twilight haired girl. She was wearing a white turtle-neck sweater and dark blue jeans. She was practically sticking to his back, her chin on his shoulder while her arms were around his shoulder. She radiated pure joy as she addressed the stern bodyguard, for all Neon could see. Her bodyguard, on the other hand, seemed rather annoyed of her sudden arrival. He was trying to shake her off, but she would not let go.

"Who is she?" She skipped her way to Kurapika, determined to pry more interesting information about her bodyguard.

Kurapika practically froze when he felt Neon's prodding gaze on them. It would only mean trouble, not to mention that they were already in a compromising position. He dared Neon a sharp glare, and the girl halted her steps. She then pouted with annoyance, and ignored Kurapika's heated glare at her.

"Are you his…girlfriend?" Neon grinned from ear to ear, if that was possible. She looked at the pretty dark haired girl, who was now looking at her with equal curiosity.

"You think so?" The girl responded vaguely, and Kurapika did not know whether he was relieved or not. Surely if she had brazenly confirmed Neon's ridiculous question, she would see no end of his temper.

Neon then took another step towards her and bent forward to take another closer look at her. Suddenly Kurapika felt butterflies in his stomach, and realized all too belatedly that Neon could spot her abnormally iridescent golden eyes. Kurapika hastily took a quick glance at her face, and was washed with relief that she had put on her contact-lenses. He thanked God that she had worn her casquette hat as well.

"You are cute!" Neon suddenly declared. "You will surely look amazing in this set of clothes. Come on, let's try it on!" Neon grabbed Seraphita's wrist but the girl did not budge to follow the older girl. When Neon felt resistance from her, she turned to look at her with confused eyes.

"I would love to come with you, but I can't. I have urgent matter to attend to, and in that case, can I borrow him for a while?" Seraphita had untangled herself from Kurapika's shoulder, but as soon as she said that, she coiled her arms around his arm, making him jolt in surprise.

Neon cocked her head to her side, and she seemed to be thinking hard. She looked around and noticed that the other bodyguards had been watching closely. She looked again at the girl, who gave her big puppy's eyes. Neon melted when she saw this, and gave her approval for the matter.

"It's okay, you can take him. I have more than enough bodyguards here. I give my permission." Neon finally declared.

"Thank you!" Seraphita took a deep polite bow.

"But come with me for some shopping next time, okay?" Neon winked at her excitedly, which she returned with a grin only.

With that, she dragged Kurapika out of the shopping mall, until they reached the street. By then, the sun was getting low while Kurapika was already turning livid and his face almost turned purplish from anger and embarrassment.

"What did you think you were doing?!" He demanded in a yell. Fortunately, the street was too busy and nobody paid any mind on them.

"Getting you out of such boring, mundane job." She shrugged. "I saw you dying out of boredom."

"But that does not mean you can just kidnap me while I'm doing my duty!" He had to fight his urge to pull his own hair.

"But the boss gives her permission, and that's all there is to it. For goodness sake, can't you see it in the positive light for once?" She started to sound exasperated.

Kurapika blinked, as he registered some tiny bit truth in her argument. Without realizing it, he had put everything in bad light, and continued berating her because she had tried to get him some time to relax. He took a deep breath to calm himself while Seraphita waited patiently.

"Kurapika, take it easy. Your blood pressure will shoot the sky if this continues. Come on, I'll take you somewhere."

"And whose fault is it that my blood pressure shoots up, as I recall that someone had told me to _stop_ chasing after my nemesis." He asked irritably, but less hostile.

Seraphita rolled her eyes in exasperation. She shook her head and took Kurapika's hand before he could protest. She then dragged him along towards a quiet alley and spun around to face him, his countenance still showed some displeasure. Ignoring his censure, Seraphita said no words and squeezed his hand tighter.

"We are going to ride the wind, _you_ included. So brace yourself." She said curtly, annoyed that her goodwill had been disregarded.

The change in Kurapika's expression was swift and blatant. Seraphita managed a mischievous grin. _This is going to be an interesting flight_.

"_Words of Power: Wind, carry me to my designated destination._" She commanded one of the elements of the world with her Deus ability. As she did so, one of her liquid golden eyes turned into pale green. Despite the contact lenses, the greenish glow and the golden glow still penetrated the lenses, resulting in eerie glow of her mismatching eyes.

Kurapika noticed this and his jaws dropped. Before he could utter anything, he felt his foot had lost its ground. When he looked down, his feet were no longer touching the concrete. In other words, they were airborne. The next thing he knew, he was coursing through the sky. He could not believe himself. When looked down, he spotted the city down there; the people were barely the size of ants. The wind roared in his ears as they sliced through the air. Kurapika craned his neck to take a peek to his left, and saw the girl holding his hand and was looking at him. She grinned at him, and opened her mouth.

"We are arriving soon. You hold on!" She said loudly to overcome the loud roar of the wind.

Not wanting to take the risk of biting his tongue in his attempt to reply, Kurapika wisely zipped his mouth closed. True to her words, they soon slowed down and descended. As they lost altitude in a fairly smooth course, Kurapika could feel his stomach churn as the contents protested. His face turned green with the sudden motion sickness, and to his chagrin, Seraphita looked perfectly fine. She even seemed to enjoy the crazy flight.

As soon as their feet touched the solid ground, Kurapika crouched to the floor and groaned in sickness. He tried to save whatever embarrassment he could have earned by emptying his stomach in front of the younger girl.

"Feeling sick? That's okay, it's normal for first-timer. I got that as well. My sister was even worse at handling it." Seraphita crouched to him and patted his back gently, trying to relieve his sickness.

After several minutes and his insides had calmed down from their raging protest, Kurapika looked up with weary face. However, as soon as he registered his surroundings, he could not help but to lit up. He stood up with a stagger, but steadied himself immediately. He was on a lone beach that seemed untouched by humans. It was still in its pristine condition, the water glittered under the blessed sunlight, like a sea of diamonds. The wind was fresh and not sticky. The sand was unbelievably soft and white. Kurapika took a few uncertain steps, but in no time he was already absorbed in the beauty of the newfound heaven.

"Magnificent, no?" Seraphita stepped to his side, grinning triumphantly at him. "I call this place White Beach, since the sand is purely white."

"I can't disagree." Kurapika muttered. He settled down in the sand, facing the ocean. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and meditated. Seraphita sat next to him and peered to look at his face.

The Kurapika that had looked so tense had visibly relaxed and looked more serene now. His peaceful look was more than worth the trouble she had to go through, enduring his vexation and complaints. Seraphita smiled and tugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on the knees. Her eyes fell to the ocean, and the sound of the wave breaking was like lullaby to her. Just as her eyelids were threatening to close, Kurapika's voice roused her awake.

"Why do you bring me to this place?" He asked quietly. Seraphita stayed quiet for a while, choosing her words.

"Because I know you'll like it here." She finally said, her eyes never leaving the ocean that now bathed in its evening glory.

"How?" His voice still calm. "You sound as if you know me so well."

"Because we are alike, Kurapika." She answered quietly, wishing that the older boy did not catch it.

"In what way?" His eyes fluttered open and they were staring at her. She could feel them boring into her. Kurapika narrowed his eyes and asked again. "Who are you exactly?"

"I am Seraphita Deus, one of the last two only survivors of the destruction that had befallen my clan. As you are the only remaining one of the Kuruta clan." Seraphita said while turning to face him slowly. There was a deep solemnity in her eyes, and something else. Something off that he could not really pinpoint.

"And what an irony in it." Another voice rang.

Both heads snapped towards the direction from where the voice had come. Kurapika had been wary, but Seraphita was more dismayed than anything. There, not far from them, was a woman in white garment, her silver hair swaying in the gentle sea breeze. Behind her was a mighty light grey stallion with sharp eyes.

"Or maybe I should call it tragic?" The woman said again, her voice rolled smoothly. The horse behind her disappeared as her Nen dissipated.

"Shelke nee-san! How come you are here?" Seraphita's face whitened slightly, as if her sister being in the beach had not been in her plan.

"I asked Sleipnir to bring me to you, since you've been missing the whole day and acting weird since…_that_ day." She added carefully as she eyed the Kuruta boy sitting next to her little sister. Kurapika caught the dry anticipation in her uncanny purple eyes.

"What do you mean with irony and tragic?" Kurpika asked warily, he posed in his defensive mode.

"You want to know?" Shekinah gave him a wry smile, a threateningly icy cold smile that froze his blood.

"Nee-san!" Seraphita tried to stop her, but she knew that there was no stopping her sister. She gritted her teeth, bracing herself for whatever would follow after.

"Your Kuruta clan was the one who slaughtered our Deus clan."

***

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_**Author's Notes: **Some of you might have guessed it already. But yeah, that's how it turned out. That's why Seraphita knew about Kurapika being a Kuruta. Shekinah was being a meanie here... She did not hate Kurapika, really. It's just...well, you'll see in the next chapter._

_**Next:** Shekinah harshly confronted Kurapika about the fact that his tribe was the one who slaughtered Seraphita's clan. Seraphita comforted Kurapika afterwards, while Shekinah left them be and went her way to Kuroro. Ignoring the better judgement, she performed a task for Kuroro; which then almost cost her life, and Seraphita's._


	6. Chapter 6 : The Ugly Truth

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter, but I own Seraphita and Shekinah and their summons._**

_**Story so far:** Shekinah revealed the unpleasant truth of the demise of her clan. Kurapika's clan was responsible for the slaughter of the sisters' people! Kurapika was unwilling to accept the truth, but Seraphita kept confronting him. Meanwhile, upon Seraphita's request, Shekinah left them alone and went to meet Kuroro as promised. She performed Necromancy, the dangerous skill, but as the result she almost died because she needed Seraphita to perform the ritual safely._

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_**CHAPTER 6: The Ugly Truth**_

Kurapika wondered if he had some hearing impairment or not. Maybe he needed to check with the physician later. What a lame joke, he berated himself. Now was not the time to joke around, not when someone was giving him a piece of information that he would never believed.

"What?" He asked again, incredulity clear in his voice.

It seemed like eternity until he finally managed to choke the word out of his throat. Twilight had come, and the woman just stood there, her face a cold mask of ice. Her purple eyes penetrated deep into him, pining him down the ground he was standing. They were unforgiving, cold, and emotionless, and Kurapika knew it better than anyone else that there was no falsehood in those eyes. She was speaking the truth. The ugly truth.

Seraphita shifted uncomfortably by his side, her gaze casted down to the white sand. Kurapika turned to look at her, but she avoided his hard gaze.

"Is that true?" He asked her with weak voice. Unable to voice her confirmation, Seraphita merely nodded. Suddenly, indescribable rage boiled in his heart. He turned to the silver woman and glared dagger at her.

"And why would my clan slaughter your clan for no good reason?" He countered. The older girl scowled at him.

"Why would _I_ know that?" She snapped, her purple eyes flaring with wrath for the underlying accusation that her clan was the one at fault in the first place. "For all I know, _your_ clan warriors suddenly charged to my village out of the blue, claiming that they would put the living threats for peace to eternal rest."

Kurapika was taken aback by her furious reply. She looked like she could bite his arms off anytime if he was to venture too close to her.

"The Kuruta thinks that the Deus is too dangerous. Our powers are, by no means of exaggeration, unrivalled." Seraphita told him softly by his side, still refusing to look at him in the eyes. "There is no stopping us if the whole clan decided to adopt aggressive territorial expansion policy."

"Despite wielding tremendous powers, we are civilised enough to seal those powers away on our own accord. We only select the useful ones for daily tasks to be left unsealed." Shekinah said derisively from between her gritted teeth. Anger and censure seemed to be seething out of her. Seraphita had never seen her so agitated before.

Kurapika could not take it anymore. Suddenly the world swirled before him, and his energy was leaking away from him at alarming speed. His knees would not buckle up, and they soon gave in under his weight. He fell to the soft sand knee first, his face bleached and his eyes flared in its crimson glory. Seraphita scooted to his side, but dared not to touch him yet. She looked at him with uneasy eyes, and then looked at Shekinah.

"_Can you leave us alone? Please?_" She begged through their mental link.

Shekinah raised an eyebrow, questioning her. Receiving no response whatsoever, she snorted softly and summoned back Sleipnir. Shekinah mounted the spiritual mythical horse and took off wordlessly without sparing a second glance to the pair sitting on the white sand. Seraphita watched as her older sister went away and finally disappeared in the darkened sky of approaching night.

The night wind howled around them. As awkward silence fell between them, Kurapika stood motionless in his position, his eyes staring into space. Seraphita had no idea what to do. She leaned forward and reached out to comfort him, but her hand was brusquely slapped away by Kurapika. He turned to her and glared at her with his iridescent crimson eyes.

"Kurapika…" Seraphita's shoulder sagged.

"…I don't believe it." He muttered, and kept repeating it in escalating speed, like chanting spell to keep his sanity. His eyes turned wide, panic was clear in them.

"My clan wouldn't have done something so outrageous. It's impossible!" He half-yelled now.

Nothing came to counter his vehement denial, not even Seraphita said anything. She just sat there, hands on her laps, eyes shone with understanding and empathy as she looked over the older boy. She was familiar with his feelings, she could relate with him. If only he would listen to her for a while more.

"Will it convince you if you speak to them?" Kurapika stopped his crazed mutterings. "The spirits of my people. Spirits do not lie, Kurapika. They are bound to speak the truth. Will you believe it if you hear it by yourself?"

Kurapika turned his head towards her slowly, strands of his blond hair obscuring his pale face. His scarlet eyes glowed eerily, and they were looking at her directly.

"Shelke nee-san can do it. She deals with the bodiless, after all. Will you want to do it? Do you have enough courage to face the truth, albeit bitter and harsh?" She asked again with firmer tone. She sat up straight, her golden eyes unwavering.

Again, Kurapika turned to stare at the sand. His face went blank, and suddenly he started laughing awkwardly, like a man who had lost his mind. Seraphita sat unperturbed, she kept her composure in check although she flinched slightly as Kurapika began his mad laughing fit.

"I don't know what I want now. I don't even know what I'm living for now." He said in his hysteria. After some moments, his hysteric fit died down as tears started to course down his cheek. He slouched in defeat, and cried silently.

"I don't know anything anymore…" He said in writhing voice, full of agony.

Seraphita was dying to touch him, to comfort him. Her hand was already midair, but she stopped. Kurapika had slapped away her hand earlier, she did not want to risk the same response from him. She withdrew her hand and waited patiently. After a seemingly interminable time, Kurapika murmured something that she could not quite catch.

"….why?"

"Come again?" Seraphita leaned forward to get a better hearing of his words.

"Why didn't you kill me for revenge? You've had plenty of opportunities." Kurapika mumbled.

The younger girl then shifted to sit in front of him. With her hands, she touched his wet cheek and made him look up at her. Her eyes glowed with nuance of emotions, while his eyes were almost soulless.

"Look at me, Kurapika. I do not want revenge. I gain nothing from it." She slowly articulated for him. "We both suffer from the same fate. What's done is done. Your people won't be happy to see you condemn yourself into this dead-end life with no real purpose for your _own_ life."

"I'd disgrace them if I don't retrieve their eyes and avenge their wronged death." He stubbornly retaliated, although with weaker enthusiasm.

"Retrieving their eyes is one thing, Kurapika. We can work with it in many ways. But revenge… What will you gain after you kill every single member of the Genei Ryodan? Satisfaction? Sense of accomplishment? What do you seek from revenge, Kurapika?"

Kurapika immediately remembered the hollowness that he felt when he discovered that the Genei Ryodan had been eliminated, just before he was informed that they were fake bodies. He had felt like he lost his purpose of life. When Kurapika could not answer her, she continued.

"Or is it that you just want to fulfil your selfish desire to inflict pain on others that had hurt you? To do justice in your own terms?"

The wind breezed past them, the gentle undulating movements of the waves were one of the constant aspects of the scenery. Seraphita dropped her hands from his cheek, and put them on her laps.

"Revenge gives you power and strength, but at the end of the journey, when the quest of revenge is done, more often than not you feel a sense of loss. Like you lose a piece of yourself."

Kurapika still said nothing. It seemed that he had resigned himself to be lectured by her. Seraphita continued nonetheless.

"I may not fully understand how you feel, since I had my sister during the hardest time, while you were completely alone. I am sorry that my sister has been harsh to you earlier, but I can't blame her. She vividly remembers the exact incident 12 years ago. The spirits gave her the whole memories of how it all happened. She won't share the memories, no matter how hard I try to persuade her. I want to share her burden of the dreadful memories, but she won't let me. She is protecting me, but I feel that it is not fair for me. I was only 4 years old at that time, I could hardly remember anything." Unconsciously, Seraphita had started divulging the inner voice of her heart. Her golden eyes beneath te blue contact lens stared to the space.

"Then I met you. I have heard earlier that you are the last one of the Kurata. When I saw you for the first time, you were so immersed with revenge and hatred that they were virtually leaking from you. In my eyes, I know that my sister would have looked like you if she decided to keep the hatred and bitterness of our clan's destruction. Bound in endless cycle of hatred and revenge, losing your self in the process. I was relieved that she did not fall into the cycle, but you…"

She started to sob. Kurapika, who had been listening quietly, was shocked to see the rush of tears. Unable to utter any coherent words in her sobs, she let herself cried.

"I…I don't want you to lose yourself…It is…my selfish desire as well…I feel weak, unable to share the burden…with my sister…So…the least I can do to feel worthy of myself…is to help you release…your hatred…to free you…from the curse of revenge…" She finished patchily.

As soon as she finished, nothing stopped her from crying freely. Kurapika forgot all his self-pity and misery as he stared at the girl incredulously. His crimson eyes had turned back to their oceanic blue tint. He realised that he had been preoccupied by his own convoluted revenge and hatred, that he forgot the simple kindness offered to him from around him. Gon, Killua, Leorio; he almost forgot them. And there was this girl. A complete new stranger, only acquaintance to him after a few occasions, but already she dissected his darkest self and exposed them before himself. The part of himself that he hid, the part of him that he derided. Now he felt guilty.

"Sera…" He started softly. The girl still cried, but had calmed to the extent of mournful sobs. Kurapika leaned forward and placed his forehead gently on her small, trembling shoulder.

"I'm sorry…" He murmured softly, aware that his small voice would reach her.

He had never felt so at peace and serene before. It was like a massive burden in his hearts had been lifted up and discarded; his life started anew. Seraphita went stiff as soon as his head touched her shoulder, but when she heard his hushed words, she relaxed. She leaned her head against his shoulder as well, both supporting each other. Seraphita closed her eyes, her eyelashes wet from her tears. A gentle smile crept up her lips.

"Thank you…"

***

The wind whipped around her coldly, her white dress flapped wildly. She leaned forward and buried her ashen pale face on the mane of the mythical beast. The stallion trotted in the air, his destination fixed. After sometime and his mistress still said nothing, the horse glanced to her.

_Mistress, is something wrong?_ He asked, worry coloured his ghastly voice.

There was no answer forthcoming but Shekinah stirred in her seat. When she finally looked up, her eyes were moist with warm tears. Her purple eyes met her beast's obsidian eyes.

_Mistress is upset._ It was a question rather than a statement.

"I am, Sleipnir. For a reason that you are aware of." She said in a quiet voice, yet the stallion heard it.

_Is it because of the boy? He is not responsible for Deus' fall. You shouldn't have been so harsh at him._ He said gently at her. Despite his fearsome look, he had a soft personality. _He is, after all, a victim from a similar disaster as well._

"I know, but it just…annoys me that the boy did not know anything about his clan's sin against mine."

_Sin? _The horse snorted as he straightened his neck. _Appropriately so, but the sin is already paid for. _

"Fully paid. I should apologise to the Kuruta boy later." She finally said, the turmoil in her heart had been subdued. She then patted the horse's sturdy neck gently. "You are a war horse, yet you are so gentle."

_Only to my mistress._

"I love you, Sleipnir." Shekinah laid her head on his neck, his soft mane cushioned her head.

_So do I._

A smile crept up her lips. "Come on, let's hurry to Kuroro. He is waiting for us."

***

Kuroro sat silently, his eyes closed and his hands clasped together, while his elbows were rested on his lap. Even with his eyes closed, he was aware of his surroundings. There, at the corner of the spacious room, Bonolenov and Coltopi sat still like statues. On his further left, Shizuku was reading a book while Franklin sat next to her. At the other corner of the room, Shalnark was busy with his gadgets. Machi was leaning against the wall, listening silently to the conversation between Kalluto, Nobunaga, and Phinks, with Feitan standing mutely next to Phinks.

Ah, yes. Kalluto, the newest addition to the Spider's limbs. As soon as he looked at the newbie, he knew that he was a Zoldyck, the youngest one. He emitted a similar aura as Illumi, the assassin that he had hired to annihilate the Godfathers, albeit weaker. He had agreed to let him in the group, since they needed more manpower anyway. It seemed that Phinks quite liked him.

A soft strand of Nen brushed his consciousness. Kuroro opened his eyes and looked up. His dark eyes were fixed on the shattered window. Answering to this brief and minute gesture, all members were alerted. They knew that their leader was anticipating something to come.

Soon enough, as they had predicted, something dived down into the room through the window. Kuroro made no move, and so the other members did not. The 'thing' landed on the ground with the softest 'thud', disturbing the dust at the slightest extent. It was a majestic stallion, with the most beautiful silver-haired rider. Shekinah jumped from the horse's back and landed soundlessly. Her silver hair and her white dress danced around her gracefully. She whispered some soft words to the horse, which the horse replied with a soft nudge with his nose to her cheek. As Shekinah turned around and walked towards Kuroro, the horse vanished into thin air, leaving no traces at all.

"I'm sorry I took so long to return." She addressed Kuroro, who had stood up.

"No matter. Is something wrong with Sera?"

"Nothing harmful, but I will tell you later." Shekinah promised. "Now, shall we get down to business? I will manage without her, like the last time."

With that, Kuroro's eyes turned his head to face Nobunaga.

"Nobunaga, come here."

"Yes, Danchou?" Unquestioningly the samurai approached the leader.

"I need you to cooperate. Show her your Ren, and let her assimilate hers with yours. She is going to lead you to Uvo's spirit." Kuroro said as-a-matter-of-factly.

This caught the attention of all members. Nobunaga, on the other hand, looked as if someone had dropped a bomb to his head.

"This is no joke, right, Danchou?" Nobunaga's eyebrow furrowed.

"I do not insult the dead, Nobunaga. Just do it." Kuroro ordered firmly.

Rather reluctantly, Nobunaga showed his Ren. Shekinah then stepped to face him, and then pulled forth her Ren. Like tendrils, her Ren reached out to Nobunaga and merged with it. Nobunaga looked flustered and lost, but after taking one look at the Danchou, he decided to postpone his tirade of questions. Shekinah then lifted her hands towards Nobunaga.

"Nobunaga, hold my hands. You must not let it go until the whole process is done. I'm going to take your spirit with me, and we are going to cross to the spirit world. It might be unpleasant at the beginning." She briefed him.

Silently, Nobunaga took her hands and held them firmly.

"Now, close your eyes and picture Uvogin in your mind. The more detailed the better. Imagine him standing next to you in his usual manner, attire, everything." She instructed as she closed her eyes as well.

Nobunaga nodded and did exactly as she told him. It was very easy to recall Uvogin and every single thing about him. He was his best friend, after all. Suddenly, in the eyes of the audience, Shekinah's silver Ren flared and encompassed both of them in a translucent silver sphere. Nobunaga's Ren was drowned in her, but it was still faintly visible.

"What's going on?" Phinks asked, confusion clear on his square face.

"Their spirits have left their bodies. Now, we can only wait, but nobody is to touch the sphere, or they might die." Kuroro warned. He then walked away and settled down in his previous seat.

His gaze lingered on them briefly, but then he took out a book and began reading. Interpreting his gesture as this-is-going-to-take-a-long-time, the members resumed their activities as well.

***

The wind howled in his ears, deafening him. It felt like they were going on a wild jet coaster, with no seat belt on. Nobunaga wanted to vomit, his stomach rebelling against him. The gale threw him off balance, and he lost all sense of direction. However, one solid thing he felt was the firm grips holding his hands.

"…naga…Nobunaga…" A soft voice reached his ears. "…eyes…open…" It said, the voice drowned by the horrible howl of the wind.

"What did you say?!" He shouted.

"Open your eyes!" The voice came again, this time clearer and louder.

Forcing his heavy eyelids open, Nobunaga expected his eyes to get assaulted by the raging wind, but nothing came. As soon as his eyes were fully opened, he saw nothing. Only darkness around him.

"What the—" He stuttered, perplexed with the strange phenomenon.

"We've passed the 'Bridge'. You felt the strong wind? That's it." Nobunaga turned around, and before him stood a woman in white. Her silver hair was draped over her shoulders, her thin body glowed in the dense darkness around her. Her purple eyes shone with an eerie gleam.

"Where are…" He looked around again. It was complete darkness.

"Soon, Nobunaga. We'll reach him soon." She nodded at him, as if reassuring him. "Now come with me. Never let go of my hand."

With that, she turned away and started walking, her one hand linked to his. Nobunaga followed her behind silently. He felt intimidated, being in total darkness. He looked down, and saw only endless darkness as his ground. He felt like they were floating in darkness, going nowhere but walking on the spot. Chilling breeze brushed past them.

Just as he opened his mouth to demand some explanation, something transparent passed by him. He turned around with alert, and saw a ball of wisp floating by. Baffled, Nobunaga turned his face to ask Shekinah of what the thing was, but he was confronted by yet another wisp. And another one, and another one. They were getting varied in form and size, all passed by them as if they were non-existent. Some even passed through his body, and he squeaked in shock as he witnessed the wisp entering his chest, and escaped from his back.

"Where the hell are we?!" He finally demanded.

The silver-haired young woman turned her head and looked at him. A cold wind blew, swaying her unusual hair, while her purple eyes glowed eerily. She put a smile, a smile that made Nobunaga shuddered.

"It's the Realm of Spirits." She said with an enigmatic tone. "And here is our host for today."

Answering to its cue, a big wisp appeared before them. It floated in the darkness, struggling to get into a distinct form. Patiently, Shekinah waited, and so did Nobunaga. Slowly yet steadily, the form turned into a familiar figure, and Nobunaga could not help but to gawk.

"_Ah, this is irritating. Why does it have to be so hard to return to my original form?_" The roguish voice echoed in the darkness.

"You'll get used to it." The woman shrugged nonchalantly.

"_Well, I guess so. But still, it's a pain in the ass._" The spirit, now in the form of a bulky man, gave a face. He turned to the samurai, and another smile bloomed in his face.

"_And I see you bring my best friend along._" He grinned.

"UVO!! IT'S REALLY YOU?!" Nobunaga lunged towards him and attempted to hug his massive best friend, only to walk through his body.

"_Ouch. Sorry, buddy, but I'm just a spirit._" Uvogin gave a sad smile. "_The only thing we can do now is to talk._"

"But…"

"He's dead, Nobunaga. His body has perished, only his spirit remains." Shekinah told him gently, trying not to upset him. "I've noticed that among the Genei Ryodan memberes, you are the only one who still mourns for his death, and that's not healthy. Kuroro agrees with me, he does not want you to be distracted."

"_Oh, are you my replacement, then? How's Danchou?_"

"He's fine, but no, I'm not your replacement. I'm just doing Kuroro a favour."

"_That's too bad. For someone who can enter this realm, you are surely one helluva strong Nen user._"

Shekinah only smiled at him. She told them to talk while they could, anything they had in minds; parting words, messages, heart-to-heart talks, whatever. None of them realised it, but Shekinah's face had grown terribly pale, matching the spirits around her.

Her time was running out.

***

Kuroro looked up from his book. He felt a strange movement from the Nen-encasement made of Shekinah's Ren. Just now he felt it wavering, and now he could see with Gyo that the sphere was getting thinner. Alarmed, Kuroro stood up and approached the standing figures. All members stopped their activities and eyed their leader. Kuroro stood at the rim of the sphere, next to Shekinah.

"They are coming back." He said with a frown. _Strange, something is unsettling_.

True to his words, the sphere suddenly wavered wildly, and retracted. It seeped into Shekinah's frail body, and then everything went still. As the barrier was lifted, from close distance Kuroro noticed that Shekinah's face was deathly pale, as if all blood had been drained from her face. Just then, Nobunaga's eyes snapped open.

With a startled cry, he let go of his hand and stumbled to the ground. His face had grown pale as well, but not as white as Shekinah's. Meanwhile, as Nobunaga was still catching his breath, Shekinah stood still in her position. Her eyelashes fluttered open, her purple eyes locked to Nobunaga's shocked ones. Then, it all happened in a flash.

Without any warning, Shekinah's stiff body fell backwards, her weight pulled down by the gravity. Nobunaga's big eyes grew even bigger, his jaws dropped. He wanted to shout something, but the words could not escape his throat. Shekinah's head felt dizzy. The first thing she saw was Nobunaga on the floor, the next thing was the dark ceiling of the Spiders' hideout, and the last thing was darkness. She was aware that she was falling backwards, but she had no control over her body anymore. When she expected her body to meet the hard concrete, instead something caught her.

Muffled voice called out to her, but she could not hear it. Her sense of sight was giving away, and so did her sense of touch and hearing. Shekinah then succumbed to endless darkness.

Relieved that he had stood close to her, Kuroro bolted to catch the falling girl. As soon as he caught her, he was mortified by the coldness of her skin. It was like all warmth had escaped her body, turning her into a marble statue. Her head hung limp from her delicate neck. She did not seem to be breathing. Kuroro pressed the tip of his fingers to her neck, feeling for her pulse. It was there but extremely weak; he feared that it could stop anytime. He put a finger below her nose, and felt slight breath only.

"Nobunaga, what did she tell you?" Kuroro asked, with a surprisingly harsh tone.

Nobunaga, still sprawled on the floor on his butt, snapped from his trance but still could not talk properly and coherently yet.

"More Nen. To her. Slow and steady." He stammered, still not fully recovered from his extraordinary journey to the spirit world.

In a second, Kuroro understood the message, as well as the weight accompanying it. He turned her to a more comfortable position, and he put his palm on her chest. It was best to channel his Nen to the spot closer to the heart. His Nen surged and he channelled it to enter her body slowly and steadily. Closing his eyes, he felt with his Nen. He was surprised to feel that Shekinah's Nen reserve was almost zero, but there was some weak input from elsewhere, trying to resupply her Nen reserve.

"What the hell is going on?" Phinks asked with irritation in his voice, feeling left out.

"Tell us, Nobu." Machi insisted. "What's wrong with her?"

"She…I…She just told me to tell Danchou to send his Nen to her, slow and steady." He started slowly, still not understanding her message.

"And? Danchou, explain to us." Phinks inquired impatiently.

Kuroro ignored him at first. He was still feeling what was going on inside her. He almost could not feel her presence at all, as if her spirit had really left her body. He could feel her very faintly, as if her essence had scattered in her. With his Nen, he was trying to gather them back, string them together to rouse her consciousness again. It was a good thing that Shekinah had given him a lesson about this.

"Danchou?"

"She exhausted herself." Kuroro answered. Careful not to break the Nen's flow, he gathered her in his arms and carried her to the crate, his hand no longer on her chest. As long as he maintained physical contact with her, his Nen would flow into her. He sat down and placed her on his lap, his hand still on her. All eyes fell on him, silently asking him to continue with the explanation.

"Necromancy is a dangerous skill. As the guide, she has to keep in touch with the body and the real world; both hers and the one she brings along. The workload is immense. First she has to separate both her spirits and the other one's, and pass through the 'Bridge' connecting the spirit world and this world. That itself is not an easy job, and requires a huge amount of Nen. You should now how it feels to pass the 'Bridge', Nobunaga." Kuroro said while turning to Nobunaga.

"Yeah, it's like getting caught in tornado. The first thing I knew I was toyed by the wind, the next thing I was floating in darkness." He said grimly. The other members raised an eyebrow and looked at each other.

"Upon entering the spirit world, she has to make sure that they are protected by a certain barrier. The lesser necromancer won't last long in the spirit world, and before long they will turn into spirits as well. She, however, is on a different level." Kuroro said as he gestured as the unconscious girl in his arms.

"She governs the spirits; the spirits are her pawns. They obey her and follow her orders. However, the task is still an exhausting one. Performing necromancy in two consecutive nights proved to be too taxing on her. Her Nen reserve almost drops to zero. The only thing that keeps her breathing now is my Nen." _And someone else who's been channelling Nen to her. Most probably Sera_. Kuroro added in his mind.

Silence fell between them. Each of them looked at the girl in Kuroro's arms with renewed respect, some with wariness.

"Does that mean you went to the spirit world with her last night, Danchou?" Machi, the sharp minded one, asked the leader.

"…Yes."

"May I ask who did you visit?" She worded her request carefully. Kuroro fell silent for a while, contemplating whether he should tell his _limbs_ or not.

"I went to talk to Paku."

Just after the word 'Paku' left his mouth, he felt a surge of Nen. An aggressive one. The next second, a platinum gun was trained to his temple. Without a moment of hesitation, the trigger was pulled, and the explosive sound reverberated in the spacious room. Chaos erupted as some members swiftly shuffled their positions to cover for their leader. Kuroro had jumped from his previous position a millisecond before the bullet bore into his head. He landed on the ground a few metres away from the gun, with Shekinah secure in his arms. Smoke hissed from a nasty hole on the metal crate where the bullet had been embedded into.

_It's real bullet_, Kuroro thought. _The Nen gun has tried to kill me instantly. _

"Danchou, what the hell is that?" Phinks, who had positioned himself in front of the Spider head, growled.

_Get away from my mistress_. A furious hiss was heard from the gun, and everyone in the room heard it.

"The gun just talked?" Shizuku blurted out wide-eyed.

"Whose is it?" Franklin asked warily.

"Nobunaga, is there anyone around here? Check with your En!" Phinks barked at him.

"There is no need for that." Kuroro's calm voice rose above the frantic voices of his comrades. They all turned at him with confused expression. "The gun belongs to Shekinah. It's part of her Nen." Kuroro explained, his dark eyes never leaving the gun.

_Damn right I am. Now put my mistress down, or I'll make a hole in your brain._ It snapped.

"You sure talk big for a gun, eh?" Nobunaga, whose veins were visibly throbbing on his temple, stepped forward and half-unsheathed his sword. The only thing that stopped him from charging towards the gun was Kuroro's warning glance.

"Foul language, Loki? Didn't your mistress warn you repeatedly not to speak vulgarities?" Kuroro smiled calmly as he readjusted Shekinah's prone body in his arms. Feitan snickered at his comment.

_YOU!_ A click was heard as the gun refilled its bullet.

"If you want to save your mistress, then I suggest you stop. You are draining what little remaining Nen she has. Keep it up, and _you_ will kill her." Kuroro's voice turned glacial, and his dark eyes glinted with dangerous flash.

The Genei Ryodan members tried to suppress their shock. In the years of their service to the leader, he had rarely shown such anger and visible threats to his opponents. Many of them were glad that they were not at the wrong end of his wrath. The gun, Loki, did not say anything.

"I know you can feel it. I'm trying to help her, so why don't you cooperate?" Kuroro said again, trying to persuade the stubborn gun.

_Tsk. Fine. You hurt her, I blow your brains. Got it?!_ The gun snapped, and puff! It disappeared. Silence followed after, until Phinks gave a casual whistle.

"That gun sure got some sharp tongue."

"It can't be helped. It is programmed by her to guard her when she was unconscious. It is just doing its duty." Kuroro shrugged. He looked down at the sleeping figure in his arms. The face was still as dead as before. One might mistaken her for a corpse at one glance.

"Danchou." Machi approached him. She threw a cursory glance at the girl in his arms. "Who are they?"

Kuroro raised an eyebrow. Ah, yes, he had not properly introduced the sisters to his comrades. The first meeting had been disastrous, having Seraphita to barge into their hideout to 'rescue' her sister and in the process attacked them all with her Words of Power. Seeing the situation as fit, Kuroro settled on one of the crates, still cradling Shekinah in his arms, and began his introduction of them.

"Have any of you heard of the Deus clan?" Scanning the room, nobody indicated a yes except for Shalnark; the information well of their group. "What do you know of them, Shalnark?"

"Uh…Information about them is very scarce. All I know is that they possess strange power related to the nature, or something like that."

Kuroro nodded once. "And I reckon some of you have engaged in a fight with the younger sister?"

Machi nodded. "Me, Phinks, Feitan, and Nobunaga. Phinks started first by accosting her out of the blue."

"O—oy!" Phinks protested, his face red. "It's not like I was trying to flirt with her or what! Although I admit that she looks cute…"

"And what do you think of her fighting style?" Kuroro ignored Phinks' flustered comment.

"She defeated us. Alone."

"I remember! Danchou, she is using strange techniques. She can extend her claws and they are all razor sharp. In the middle of the fight, she said something like: 'what a pain', and suddenly her Nen soared manifold and her golden eyes turned metallic grey."

Phinks then filled the leader in with the detailed story of the fight. As he listened to Phinks' story attentively, he became increasingly convinced that Seraphita would be a perfect asset for the group.

"The girl you fought, and her older sister here, are the last two remaining Deus in the world." Kuroro let the words sank into their minds, before continuing. "As I have said, they are special."

"Therefore they survived?"

"No. They are special because they survived." A smile graced his cold feature.

***

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**_Author's Note: It's been a while... Imagine Phinks flirting with Seraphita...the poor girl. For your information, Sleipnir and Loki are the names from the Norse mythology. Loki is the trickster god, while Sleipnir is the name of Odin's best stead with eight legs. _**

**_Next: The moment Shekinah collapsed, Seraphita had collapsed as well. Luckily, she was with Kurapika so he took care of her. When she woke up, Kurapika's friends: Gon, Leorio, and Killua were there, and Seraphita immediately recognized Gon, son of her master. Shekinah misunderstood Kuroro's words, and from then onwards, things went downhill. _**


	7. Chapter 7 : Desperation

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter, much to my chagrin. Anyway, I do own Seraphita and Shekinah, though._**

**_Story so far: Shekinah performed Necromancy for Kuroro, and she almost died because she pushed herself too hard on it, almost killing Seraphita in the process as well. The Genei Ryodan now knew of the two sisters' true identity, and meanwhile, Seraphita; who had been in Kurapika's care when she had collapsed, was reunited with Gon; her master's son._**

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_**CHAPTER 7: Desperation**_

There were voices surrounding her, waking her up from the thick darkness she was drowning in. Her eyelids were heavy, she was tired. She tried to remember what had happened, but the memories came fuzzy. Seraphita reached to her Nen, but to her surprise it only trickled like scarce water in desert. She concentrated harder, and found her Nen reserve had been severely depleted. Frustrated, she decided to ask the constant voices lingering by the edge of her consciousness. Maybe the owners of those voices knew of something.

With slight effort, she pried open her eyes. They were assaulted by the sudden brightness in the room. She squinted, her head made a slight jerking movement as she tried to avoid the light.

"Sera! You are awake!" A familiar voice came from her left side.

Seraphita turned her head to her left, and after a moment of adjusting to the bright room, she saw Kurapika's relieved face.

"Kurapika…where...?" She mumbled.

"Oh, she's awake?" Another voice spoke. This time, she did not recognise the voice.

Another face came into the picture. A young man took a peek to her, his round spectacle perched on the bridge of his long nose. He had a square and strong jaw, with his side burns unshaven. His hair was cropped neatly, and he donned a black suit. There was an academic air around him.

"I want to see her too!" Another more childish voice came.

Two sets of footsteps approached her bed, and two heads popped into her line of vision. Both were boys; one had black spiky hair, the other one white wild hair. The black spiky hair boy had a gentle and innocent look, while the other one radiated a more reserved atmosphere, although his expression was dominated by curiosity.

"Guys, give her space to breath." Kurapika pushed them away, shooing them away from my bed. "Sera, you okay?"

"…I'm hungry." She did not particularly feel hungry, but her body was demanding some energy intake, which she could only get from food for the time being. Actually, there was another more effective way to re-supply her energy, but she could not do it yet. She would need Kurapika's help, but he was not trained in it. She did not want to risk it yet.

"The first time we met, you were hungry as well." Kurapika laughed, but nevertheless he picked a phone in the room and started ordering some food. "By the way, I removed your contact lenses already."

_No wonder my eyes feel more natural_, she thought. "Where are we?" She asked weakly. From the interior of the room, she guessed it was a hotel.

"Beika Hotel. Don't you remember anything?" The man in black suit asked her. Seraphita shook her head. "Kurapika said when you were walking together, suddenly you gave a strangled gasp, looked at him with a horrified face, and suddenly fainted. He could not wake you up, so he brought you to this hotel, which was the nearest place. Then he called me to check you."

"Why?"

"Because Leorio is a medical student. And considering your status, I guess he doesn't want information to leak to the public just yet." This time, the white haired boy answered for her.

"Leorio?"

"Oh, his name is Leorio. This is Killua and I'm Gon. We are Kurapika's friends." The black spiky haired boy chirped and beamed at her.

"…Gon?" Seraphita repeated the name, as if tasting it in her mouth. Suddenly, realization dawned to her and her golden eyes widened. Her cat ears jerked up in alert. "You are Gon?!"

Seraphita almost jumped from the bed as she jolted up from her sleeping position. Dizziness attacked her and she swayed from imbalance. Leorio, who happened to be the nearest to her, caught her by her arms and steadied her. Gon blinked in surprise.

"You know me?" He asked, curiosity sparked from his big eyes. He went to her bed and looked at her earnestly. Killua followed behind him.

"Gon!! I miss you soooo much!" As soon as the said boy was within her reach, she grabbed him and embraced him. "You are so big now!"

Leorio and Killua gaped at her sudden reaction, and even Kurapika froze midway as he was about to join them from ordering the room service.

"Erh…Do I know you?" Gon inquired awkwardly in her embrace.

"Oh, I forgot. You were barely 2 years old when you were given to your father's relative. Of course you won't remember me. Let me take a look at you." Seraphita pushed him by his shoulder and kept him at arms length. She looked at him from head to toe and nodded in approval.

This time, Gon's face lit up. "You know Ging?"

"Well of course I do!" Seraphita gave a soft laugh. "He is my master."

"Ging teaches you? Where is he now?" Gon was getting more eager.

"I don't know where he is now. The idiot always travels around the world, my sister and I never know when he will be coming back." Seraphita grinned.

"Idiot?" Gon cocked his head sideways. A lot of his father's companions had been telling him that his father was a complete 'idiot', aside from being strong.

"Why, he IS a complete idiot. Leaving behind his only son while he took us in as his apprentices. The nerve of that man. My sister and I repeatedly ask him to take you back, but he always refused. Well, he has his own reason, but I bet it's just as childish as ever." Seraphita shook her head in exasperation.

Gon blinked while Killua and Leorio laughed their heads off. Kurapika shook his head and sighed. The world was indeed a small place, but inwardly Kurapika was happy for Gon. It was unexpected that this unusual girl had Gon's father as her master. But then again, he should not be so surprised. Kurapika was told that Ging was one of the best 5 Nen users in the world and these were his apprentices, who had been under his tutelage since childhood. Seraphita, as he had seen her display of power and skills, was very skilled with her Nen. He wanted to let Seraphita fill Gon in with stories about his father, but then again as much as he wanted to let Gon have her, there were more pressing issues.

"I know you two are more than eager to catch up after 10 years, but we have more urgent issues here." Kurapika clapped his hands to catch their attention. "Sera, what happened to you back then?"

Seraphita cocked her head to her side while her cat ears flattened on his head. She frowned as she tried to recall the past events. They had been 'talking' in the White Beach, and she flew them back to Yorkshin city. They walked together for sometime, talking about light and mundane topics, when she suddenly felt something pulling at her. A violent tug of another consciousness grabbed her awareness, pulling her away. Seraphita tried to recall the sensation.

"Shelke nee-san!" She suddenly exclaimed, her cat ears stood up in attention.

"Your sister? What's wrong with her?" Kurapika's impression of her had been unpleasant, and he cringed as he remembered her glacial stare at him.

"She almost died out of exhaustion. She performed Necromancy by herself!" Seraphita clawed at her cheeks, her face bleached with anxiety. "That's why she tried to call at me, she wanted me to support her with my Nen reserve. If she hadn't forced my Nen out of me, she would've died." She rambled with horror in her voice.

"Necromancy? You guys perform Necromancy?" Leorio backed away from the ranting girl.

"What's that?" Gon asked.

"It's a practice of communicating with the spirits of the dead." Kurapika filled him in deadpan, ignoring the boys' shocked expression. "So your sister stole your Nen?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Seeing the mild anger in Kurapika's eyes, she hastily added. "But I'm fine with that. We are linked, anyway. My sister and I are counterparts. We complement each other, and some of our skills have to be done together. Basically, we share our Nen reserve. In a way, she didn't steal my Nen."

"I see. If you say so, then I have nothing to say. But why would your sister performed Necromancy? What is she trying to do?" Kurapika sat on her bed.

"I…don't know." Seraphita bit her thumb nail. Inwardly, she knew _who_ Shekinah was doing it for. No doubt it was for Kuroro, but she thought it best not to mention the Genei Ryodan in front of Kurapika yet. They might have resolved his vengeful desire against the Phantom Troupe, but she was sure he still had some negative feelings towards them. After all, hatred could not be forgotten so easily.

"But she is not supposed to do it alone. Necromancy is her department, but she needs me to ease her burden." Seraphita explained the working of Necromancy briefly to the group. "Since we are naturally linked, she won't have to establish another link with the real world. That will save a lot of her Nen reserve. Also, I can re-supply her Nen if she was getting exhausted."

After the short explanation, all three stared at her with mixed of emotions in their eyes. Gon and Killua were amazed that she could do such thing. Kurapika looked at her with silent admiration in his eyes. Leorio felt intimidated by the knowledge of him face-to-face with a Nen user of different calibre from him. Seraphita looked at them one by one, and sighed.

"I need to go. I have to find my sister." Seraphita was about to get up, but Kurapika's hand stopped her.

"Does she need you to recover?"

"Not really. Now that she is out of the critical condition, she can recover on her own, filling her Nen pool slowly. Besides…" Seraphita cocked her head sideways, her cat ears stood up on attention as if listening to something inaudible to the others. "She has someone backing her up. Someone is supplying her with Nen."

"Then she is not in danger."

"No she is not." Seraphita shook her head.

"Then you stay here." Kurapika said with finality in his voice. He added pressure in his hand and forced the girl to lay down back to the bed. Having little physical strength at the moment, Seraphita could not resist him. She gave him an incredulous wide-eye stare.

"I want you to recover first. You need to restore your energy as well. You said it, she has someone to back her up. You don't. All the more reason for you to rest more." Kurapika crossed his arms across his chest, determination in his blue eyes.

Seraphita opened her mouth to protest, but Kurapika shot her a hard look, which made her clamped her mouth close in defeat. She knew that there was no way Kurapika would change his mind, no matter how loud and hard they argued. She settled with sulking.

"Gon, didn't you say you want to hear more about your father? Occupy her with that." Kurapika gestured at the sulking girl on the bed

"Can I?" Gon beamed.

"Please do so." Kurapika laughed.

_The annoying brat, he purposely sets me up! _Seraphita glared dagger at Kurapika, but he just ignored at her and even gave her a knowing smile._ I'm gonna wipe that smile off your face_. She grumbled in her mind, her fist clenched. However, when Gon was next to her and started asking questions about Ging, her visage softened.

_But maybe it isn't so bad after all._

***

The last thing she remembered was the dark ceiling of the abandoned warehouse and the sensation of falling backwards. The first thing she recognised when she came around was the softness and warmth of some bed sheet underneath her. Even with her eyes still closed, she knew that someone was nearby, watching her. With much effort, she cracked open her heavy eyelids. How grateful she was to find the room dim, so she did not have to waste her energy adjusting her eyesight to the light.

"How are you feeling?"

A familiar voice. She did not even bother to turn around to look at the owner of the voice. Instead, she stared to the ceiling of her room. _My room? How did I get here?_ She frowned slightly. The person sitting next to her bed leaned forward when he saw her troubled look.

"Shelke?"

Shekinah opened her mouth, intending to ask him how he got into her room. However, no words came out. Her throat was too dry to properly speak. Slowly she turned to him and mouthed 'water' at him, hoping that he would understand. Nodding with understanding, Kuroro got up and walked to the kitchen. Silently, Shekinah heard the tinkling sound of the glass being picked from the cupboard, and then the sound of water pouring from the tap water to the glass. Soon enough, Kuroro was back with a glass of cold water.

She tried to get up, but her body would not follow her brain's order to move. Kuroro noticed this, and he snaked an arm below her shoulders. With a strong yet gentle push, he helped her to sit up on the bed. He pushed to rim of the glass to her dry lips. She did not even bother to hold the glass herself, since her arms were too weak anyway. Slowly, she cracked open her lips and drank the cooling water, careful so as not to spill the water to the bed sheet. After finishing the entire water, she sighed contentedly.

"Better?" He asked while putting away the empty glass. She nodded and cleared her throat.

"How come you are here?" was the first thing she asked.

"You passed out after performing Necromancy, remember? So I brought you to your apartment."

"No, no. What I mean is: how _can_ you enter my apartment? I remember giving you the address, but I don't remember giving you the key." She said while giving him a sharp look. "And I don't have the key with me. I hide it somewhere."

"Well, I simply open the door." He gave her a 'business' smile. "It's one of my handy skills, you know."

"Of course." She scoffed as she looked away. "You are a thief, after all."

Kuroro looked at her for a minute with straight eyes. He then leaned back against his chair and sighed.

"You are still angry with me." He said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Give me a reason not to be." She said curtly, still not meeting his eyes.

Kuroro worked with his head. Truthfully, she had tons of reasons to be angry at him. First, he forgot their promise. If he defended himself by saying that it had been 10 years, she would retaliate by saying that Seraphita and her remembered the promise, so why couldn't he? Second, he became a thief, and no ordinary thief at that. He was _the_ Kuroro Lucifer, the head of the most notorious S-rank criminal group; the Genei Ryodan. Surely she had heard of his terrible reputation. Shekinah had a high moral standard, and his status would be extremely unpleasant for her.

"I have none." He admitted. "I deserve to be the target of your vexation. In that case, how can I earn your forgiveness, _princess_?" He emphasised the last word.

Shekinah's head snapped to his direction, her brows furrowed. "What was _that_ for?!" She demanded.

"What is?" He smirked.

"That _princess_ thing! Why did you call me that? Are you being sarcastic here?"

"Am I? But I'm just telling the truth. Aren't you behaving like a little princess, angry and sulking because a promise is forgotten?" The smirk never left his face as he continued to tease her.

"I—" Her eyes widened in surprise. "So our promise worth that much only for you?"

A response that he had not expected. "I didn't say that."

"But is that what you really think?" She still held the dumbstruck expression. "No, don't answer. I don't want to hear it. Never mind." She shook her head with horror.

"Shelke, I—" Now things were getting out of hands, and he knew it was not a good sign.

"You have you own 'family' now." She intercepted him before he could explain himself. "Of course a promise to a 10 years old girl doesn't mean much to you. I have been a fool all this time. No, forget about the promise. It doesn't matter now. It doesn't."

Shekinah started covering her face with her hands. She brought her knees close to her chest and started rocking to and fro in her attempt to calm herself. Kuroro called her name, but she did not respond. She looked like a broken doll, and he was alarmed by her odd behaviour.

"Shelke, listen to me. You have misunderstood." He leaned forward towards her. She did not respond. "Shelke, look at me." Kuroro sat on her bed and yanked her hands off her face rather harshly that she gave a yelp of pain. He gave her a quiet apology, but her amaranthine eyes stared at him with disregard to the pain in her wrists and his apology.

"Misunderstood? What have I misunderstood? If the promise really does matter to you, you won't forget it in the first place."

It started as a whisper, but it grew louder as she spoke. Kuroro was at loss of words. He was a master in reasoning and debate, and he took pride in it. This was the first time he did not know how to answer back. The girl was confused and overwhelmed by her emotion, but still her arguments were sound and logical. He could not disagree with her. She was right. It was commonsensical that he would not forget the promise if he really thought of it as important. Why had he forgotten it? Kuroro silently cursed himself for forgetting it. Shekinah still stared at him, as if she was in a trance.

"People forget things that are not important to them. Which means…" Her rigid lips broke into a smile. "We are not important enough to you."

Now Kuroro was really worried of her mental health. He could not interpret the meaning of her smile. Definitely not a happy one, but it did not strike him as a sorrowful smile. Suddenly he had no idea of who he was facing right at that moment.

"Thank you for entertaining me and my foolish whims. Now you can liberate yourself from having to babysit me. You may leave anytime." She bowed to him politely from her sitting position. If he had not paid much attention to her choice of words, he would not have detected the subtle sarcasm in her voice. She sounded so sincere, but then again he wondered whether she was really sincere when she said that, considering her state. It seemed that the shock had affected her mind.

"I'm not leaving you. Not when you are still confused and lost."

"Why, I'm honoured by your kindness, good sir, for attending to someone like me, who is of no importance to you." She said again, with her head still bowed.

That was all he needed. "What the hell is wrong with you? Snap out of it, Shelke. You are not behaving like yourself." He shook her by her thin shoulders, hoping to shake some sense into her presently cloudy mind.

"Now aren't you behaving unlike yourself as well?" She smiled at him, her amethyst eyes unfocused. "This is so unlike the respected leader of the Genei Ryodan I know. Or is it just all an act? Which one is the act, which one is the real persona? But then again, I have no right to say that I know your true self. And so do you."

He stopped shaking her. Her smile looked hollow, and it made him uneasy. She really looked like she had gone insane.

"You don't know me. How would you? I've been forgotten for 10 long years." She continued with empty voice.

Kuroro really had no idea on what to do with her. He had intended to tease her only, but it had gone down to this. Seconds later, which felt like eternity for him, the door banged open, and entered in the little sister. It was obvious that Seraphita had come home in a rush. Her hair was a mess, and she was almost breathless. Even her lightly tanned skin looked pale. She threw an anxious glance at Shekinah, and then a questioning glance at Kuroro. Wordlessly, she crossed the small bedroom in several steps and went over the sit on Shekinah's bed. She hugged her older sister in a gentle embrace, and made Shekinah rest her head on her shoulder.

"Wait for me outside." Seraphita told him quietly while patting the still-in-trance girl in her arms.

He could only nod and comply. There was nothing he could do at the moment, so he went out of the bedroom and went to the living area. He sat on the couch and waited. A few minutes later, Seraphita emerged from the room, looking more tired than ever. Kuroro had felt a slight Nen earlier, so she must had done something to soothe her older sister.

"I put her to sleep." She gestured with her head to Shekinah's bedroom. "Hopefully by the time she awakes, her thoughts will be more organised."

"You came in time."

"I sensed her deep agitation. She has never been so upset before. Not since the days when she was still haunted by the nightmares of our clan's massacre have passed." Seraphita stared to the bedroom with her liquid golden eyes, as if looking for some answers of her unspoken question. She turned to Kuroro. "What happened?"

For once, Kuroro let out a sigh. "It seems that I have said the wrong thing."

Seraphita frowned. She sat on the couch in front of him. "What did you tell her?"

Thus, Kuroro told her of their conversation, how from a simple teasing triggered such 'violent' response from her. When he was done, this time it was Seraphita's turn to sigh. She leaned against the soft couch and closed her eyes to think. After a while, she opened her amber eyes and looked up to find Kuroro staring at her with his dark eyes.

"So, what's wrong with her?"

"I wish it's that easy to explain." She breathed out heavily. "Let see, where do I start? In case you haven't notice, family is a sensitive issue for her. That's because she had seen how our parents were killed during the massacre. The incident left her only me. Honestly, she wants to have our parents back, if she can help it."

"Wait, weren't the two of you away during the massacre, so how—" Kuroro stopped halfway as cruel realization dawned to him. "Necromancy."

Seraphita nodded with solemn face. "Desperate to know what had happened, nee-san unconsciously tapped into her raw Nen. She saw the ghosts, and asked them of what had happened. Instead of telling her verbally, they showed her the full version of the bloody massacre. I haven't seen it, because she won't show me. Although it's not a first-hand experience, still the replay of the murder of our parents traumatised her. She swore that she wouldn't let me die, and that she would preserve our bloodline. That's how family becomes important to her."

Silence fell between them. Seraphita was lost in her thoughts, while Kuroro digested the information and contemplated it.

"That's why she is so upset when I have forgotten my promise to her about being her family." He concluded.

"You can say so. She is lonely, nii-san. More than you can ever guess. She wants someone to speak to, someone as equal. She won't tell me her problems, no matter how hard I coax her to tell me. I am just someone to bicker with, to argue about trivial things with." Seraphita said with sadness in her voice. She did not know whether to be grateful of her older sister's protectiveness towards her, or to feel hurt because she did not think of her as an equal.

"She can talk to Ging." He offered.

Seraphita shook her head slowly. "Master is always away. When he was done with our basic trainings; as in until we have achieved the gist of our ultimate techniques, he left us to train on our own. He will come back to test us on our skills and strength from time to time, and he will go off again."

Another awkward silence fell. Seraphita cast her eyes down, sorting her jumbled thoughts and things she wanted to say. Kuroro looked at the door to Shekinah's room. Suddenly, things were more complicated that he had thought. He had never expected to be of such great impact to someone's life, someone he had known for one month only 10 years ago.

"For nee-san…" Seraphtia started again, her husky voice breaking the heavy silence. "That promise becomes a string of hope. She clings to it desperately. She had really hoped, 10 years ago, that you would come with us and be our big brother. But you didn't. From what I can see, it seems that your absent is like losing another family member. That's why…the promise is important. It may sound ridiculous, thinking of you as a family when we spent only one month together." Seraphita smiled at their naivety and shook her head sadly.

Kuroro wanted to protest. _He_ had wished they were family, but he still had the audacity to forget such promise. What a heretic he was.

"I don't think she'll forgive me even if I am to apologize to her." Kuroro murmured. "She thinks I've chosen over the Spiders over her for my so-called family."

"I'm not too surprised about that. I think so too, in a way." Seraphita smiled at him with a knowing gaze. "Don't you think of them as a family? I heard some of them hailed from Ryuusei-gai, the original members of the Genei Ryodan together with you. You travel together, live together, work together side by side. That's almost like a family, isn't it?"

Kuroro had to admit that he did care of his members. When Uvogin had died, he cried for him and held a requiem for his wake, one that would suit his _taste_ (which included violence and blood). Kuroro smiled to himself. Uvogin was like the little kid in their group. Despite his insane strength, he had the personality of a little kid. From what Nobunaga had tearfully told them of his encounter with Uvogin's spirit, he was content with his death. He had fought until the last moment, and it was a good fight. He died because of his carelessness, not because of any trickery. More importantly, he did not sell out his friends to the Chain-user. And he did not hate the Chain-user.

"You know, you are way too mature for your age."

"I don't deserve such praise." Seraphita chuckled softly as she rose from her seat. "Anyway, that's all I can tell you. I do hope you two will make up as soon as possible. I'm going to retire to my bed now. If you want, you can sleep here. I think there's an extra room."

"Thanks for the offer, but I must go. There is something that I must attend to." Kuroro got up as well. He walked over to the door.

"Business?" She inquired as she accompanied him.

"Yes. Which reminds me, are you interested in joining Ryodan?" Kuroro asked casually as they descended via the lift.

"You know my answer." She smiled to him. The lift reached level one and they stepped out of the lift.

"I see. Tell me if you change your mind, then." They walked towards the main gate of the apartment.

"I'm afraid it won't change." She stopped when they reached the gate, while Kuroro continued on walking. "I'll let you know when she's awake."

"Do you own any cell phone?"

"No, but you will know it." She said confidently. Kuroro knew that she would use her Nen to send the message, so he said nothing. "Good night, nii-san. See you again." She waved good-bye at him.

Kuroro only waved briefly at her, while his back was towards her. She stood there and waited until he disappeared from her line of vision. Seraphita sighed and let the wind caressed her for a moment. She turned around to go back to her unit, when she failed to see brisk movements from the bushes nearby. A hand grabber shoulder and roughly turned her around. With a gasp, she automatically swung her hand to punch the assaulter, but she froze as soon as she made eye contact with the person.

Seraphita found herself staring at two crimson orbs glaring at her.

***

* * *

**_Author's Notes: Well, I know Shekinah sounded like some crazed girl here, but I can't just help it. Now Seraphita looks like the caretaker now, being more cool-headed in this kind of situation. Shekinah is apparently more emotional than the older sister; but it can't be helped, can it? She saw the massacre of her clan, after all. _**

**_Next: Kurapika caught Seraphita talking in friendly way with Kuroro! How would he react to it? A tirade of accusations would be thrown at her, but how would she handle it? Also, unexpected, and most importantly unpleasant, event would take place, involving the two girls. And it would once again force Kurapika and his nemesis; Kuroro Lucifer, to face each other._**


	8. Chapter 8 : Captivity

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hunter x Hunter; only the OCs._

_**Story so far**: Shekinah and Kuroro got into a misunderstanding, and Seraphita came to explain the reason of the older sister's behaviour. Exhausted both physically and mentally, she had her guard down and as the result, someone caught her having a friendly conversation with Kuroro Lucifer. _

* * *

_**CHAPTER 8: Captivity**_

If look could really kill, she would have died all over again since minutes ago. She shrunk under the intense glare that he directed to her, the scarlet eyes glowed eerily in the dark alley. Those eyes were unforgiving and she knew she would not get away 'unscathed' from their wrath. He had dragged her all the way from her apartment to a secluded alley, all the while attempting to contain the anger that threatened to drive him into a killing spree.

"Explain." He ordered harshly with strained voice, reining himself not to yell at her.

Seraphita sighed. First was the issue about her sister, and now this. Her day could not get worse than it already was. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, bracing herself from the incoming tsunami of accusations and curses from the boy in front of her. Her snowy cat ears stood up with determination.

"The person my sister was looking for, that's him." She started, unsure whether it was a good start or not.

"Kuroro Lucifer, the leader of the Genei Ryodan. So you are part of them." Kurapika growled.

_There it comes_. "No, we are not. That, I can assure you."

"What proof do you have? Your sister might be looking for him because she wanted to join. Or maybe she is the new recruit to replace the ones I killed." His blazing eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Like I said, he is an old friend." She tried to keep herself composed.

"You called him 'brother'." He hissed venomously.

"And that's precisely what he is to me. An older brother from 10 years ago. We met 10 years ago, before Genei Ryodan even existed. I would've called him 'Danchou' if I was really a member of Genei Ryodan. But I did not, and therefore I am not. And neither is my sister."

"And you are trying to protect him from me. That's why you tried to convince me to forget my oath of vengeance to them, to _him_."

"You are not listening to my explanation, Kurapika." She narrowed her liquid golden eyes.

"And _why_ should I listen to you?"

"Because I have _never_ lied to you. Not a single thing, not a single word, not a single fact."

"You didn't tell me that your sister was looking for him."

"You never asked."

Seraphita could see Kurapika bristling with anger. His eyes grew even redder with every second that passed. It was really scary to directly look into them. The eyes looked as if they were on fire, like a pair of fiery rubies. Still, Seraphita braced herself to look into his eyes, to prove that she was telling the truth. Her amber eyes met with blazing scarlet eyes. The famous scarlet eyes. She heard the rattling sound of chains, and soon enough Kurapika's hand was decorated by his Nen chain.

"Stop it, Kurapika. You are not thinking straight. If you attack me with you chain, you will die. I am not a Spider." She warned him. Seraphita knew of the restriction that governed Kurapika's chain.

"You could have lied." He said without blinking an eye.

"And you are willing to test it with the cost of your life?" She snapped at him. "Fine, come on. Stab me here, on my heart!" She jabbed a thumb at her chest, where her heart lay. "Let see who will die first, you or me!"

Her eyes went ablaze like burning amber, full with fury. The intensity made Kurapika wavered for a fraction of second, but he regained his composure soon. He kept his glare at her steady.

"I really wanted to help." She sighed as she closed her eyes. Her snowy cat ears went flat on her twilight hair. Her mind was getting numb and her body was crying for the needed rest. Her body was approaching its limit. "But if you refuse to believe, what can I do? It's up to you, Kurapika."

She stepped back and leaned against the dirty wall of the alley, not minding the filth. She exhaled heavily and cast down her face to the ground. Kurapika looked at her hard. In his mind, a battle was raging. He wanted to believe her, but having seen the closeness and familiarity between his nemesis and her, his logic was telling him that they were accomplice. Kuroro was using her to mellow his hatred towards the Spider, so that he would cancel his goal for their ultimate destruction, and thus rendering him harmless. After a seemingly interminable time, the battle still had not ended. He did not reach any conclusion. With weariness, he dropped his hand and let the chains disappeared. Seraphita looked up and stared at him.

"Do you believe me, Kurapika?"

Instead of answering her, Kurapika turned around and walked away wordlessly. He left her alone in the alley. She straightened up and watched as he disappeared into the crowds, her eyes never leaving his back. She sighed with defeat. Just as she took a step forward, intending to go back to her apartment, she felt a movement behind her and her snowy cat ears flipped up as they picked the slightest shuffling sound from behind. With her body sluggish due to exhaustion, she did not have the chance to look back. An electric shock assaulted her whole body, paralyzing her. Her mind and body resorted to the most agreeable option; they shut down.

***

"…other one?"

"…taken care of…seal off her Nen…"

"…this one…"

"She's waking up."

Her head throbbed badly, it felt like someone had injected some chemicals into her brains and now her mind was all cloudy. She pressed her eyes tight, and then pried them open. Lights assaulted her eyes and she automatically shun away from the blinding brightness. As she moved her head slightly, she felt the harsh tug of cold metal circling her wrists and ankles. No wonder she felt so uncomfortable, she was suspended from the metal chains, her feet barely touching the cold floor.

"Wake up already, eh, princess?" A surprisingly annoying voice spoke to her. Even his voice already gave her a very bad impression of his personality.

Again, Seraphita opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the white marble floor beneath her. Slowly she looked up, and in front of her were two men. One was fat, bald, and dressed in formal black suit, with his nose crooked in an ugly angle. It looked like someone had given him a good punch on the face. The other one was a Nen user dressed casually. Even with her mind still numbed, it was registered to her brain that these guys were definitely not good guys. Which good guys would chain a girl to wall anyway? She tried summoning her Nen, but much to her dismay, she could not access it. The Nen user snickered.

"Don't do anything futile, girl. I sealed away your Nen, you won't be able to use it."

Even in her weakened state, scowling was something she could do without much effort. She looked back at them, this time with clearer mind. The Nen user obviously worked for the fat man.

"What do you want?" She asked with raspy voice, her lips dry from lack of moisture.

"Surely you know what we want." The fat man taunted her with gleeful expression on his ugly face.

Seraphita frowned. Sure, the answer came to her mind right away. "You want to display me as the last Deus."

"Smart girl." The fat man clapped his thick hands. "Right, I will show that Nostrad who is the superior one here. He lost 20 men trying to capture you alive, but I lost none! Ha!"

The fat man stepped forward and scrutinised her face. As he did so, he kept nodding his big head, as if appreciating a piece of artwork. He smiled smugly at his latest priceless treasure.

"You really have a stunning eye colour." He commented as he brought up his fat hand to touch her face. Just as it was an inch away from her face, Seraphita snapped and bit the flesh between his thumb and his index finger. The man screamed and tried to shake his hand off her but she would not let go. In panic, he punched her temple with his other free hand until she saw stars. When she released her bite on him, his hand was already bleeding, and the skin was ripped, exposing raw flesh.

"Brat! You better behave yourself!" He cried in pain as he pushed a button nearby.

Electric current soared into her body, electrocuting her. She gave a surprised yelp but not a scream. The fat man gaped and she smirked smugly. Oh, how she wanted to laugh. She had experienced worse electrocution before. During her trainings, she had tried to command thunders, and some ended up hitting her instead of her designated target. She was used to electricity.

"Well, looks like we got ourselves a tough girl here, Zenji." The Nen-user laughed.

"Tsch, I'll just increase the voltage and see how she handles it!" Zenji snapped. "You mind your own business, Murai!"

"Suit yourself, but just don't damage her too much. You don't want to show her to your 'friends' in a haggard condition, do you? Especially that Nostrad guy." Murai crossed his arms across his chest and grinned with amusement.

"Rrrrh…" Zenji gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Fine. Let's go! I want to check on the other one."

"Okaaaay, boss." He let Zenji lead the way and followed him. Before he closed the door, he turned to take a final look at the chained girl. She glared at him with her amber eyes. "See you again, princess." He winked and closed the door with a soft thud.

"Princess my foot!" Seraphita spat with vexation.

A minute passed, and she started thinking hard. She wondered how she ended up there, chained and held prisoner. She remembered the electric shock she felt before she passed out. They had used stun gun on her. Under normal circumstances, it would feel like an ant bite only, but her body had reached the peak of exhaustion, and would take no more exertion. She cursed silently at her traitorous body.

_Nee-san? How about her? They mentioned the other one, could it be nee-san?_ Her snowy cat ears flipped up. She projected her awareness, trying to touch her older sister's awareness.

"…_Sera?_" A weak voice answered her calling.

"_Nee-san! Where are you? Did they get you also?_"

"…_Yes. They chained me._"

"_Same here. They electrocuted me just now._"

"_What, that's like a breakfast to you_." Seraphita could imagine her sister rolling her eyes.

"_Kind of, but I'm afraid they'll do the same to you. You are not used to being electrocuted. But I don't think they will torture us until it will leave scars or anything. After all, we are meant to be display objects._"

"_I figure so. I'll survive even if they electrocute me. Still, I want to get off as soon as possible. But our Nen reserves are just too little._"

"_They seal off my Nen._"

"_Of course they will. But we can access our Deus power without Nen, remember? Although the power won't be as strong as when we amplify them with Nen._"

"_I know. Shall we wait until we save enough energy? I'm still a bit tired and hungry, the bastards never give me food._" She complained with a pout.

"_You and your stomach._" Shekinah tsked."_Just tell them you are hungry and I'm sure they'll give you something to eat. They won't let their precious hostages to starve._" She said with thick sarcasm.

"_Oh, the Nen-user who sealed off our Nen is Murai and the fat boss who ordered to catch us is Zenji. I almost bit off a piece of his flesh. Too bad he surprised me with his little punch._"

"_You should have chewed the whole chunk of his fat off._"

"_You know, when it comes to this kind of issue, you tend to be so sadistic, nee-san._"

"_Survival instinct, my dear sister._" Seraphita swore she could literally see Shekinah grinning.

"_I don't see the connection between surviving and chewing off a piece of flesh of someone._"

"_Whatever._"

***

Shekinah eyelids fluttered open as she heard the door being opened. From the footsteps, she knew two people were coming. She stifled a grin as she remembered the retaliation plan she had formulated with Seraphita.

"I see you have come to visit finally, Zenji and Murai." She said with her husky voice, her face still looking to the marble floor beneath her. Her silver hair formed a glittering curtain around her head, her bangs hanging loosely. As expected, the two men halted in their steps. They glanced at each other with surprise and slight apprehension.

"Who told you our names?" Zenji asked, trying to sound authoritative.

Shekinah looked up slowly and smiled creepily at them. Strands of her silvery hair fall on her face, making her look more ghastly. Zenji tried to hide the shudder as he looked into those ethereal amethyst eyes.

"Who indeed?" She taunted them with a smile. She turned to Murai, who was looking at her warily. "You should know, Murai. After all, you were the one who sealed off my Nen. Surely you know the gist of the nature of my Nen."

"Frankly speaking, I only know that you are of Specialization type. The rest is too alien for me to understand." He uneasily admitted. If the younger sister had been insolent, the older sister was creepy.

"Is that so?" She cocked her head sideways while feigning a disappointed look. "That's too bad." She turned to Zenji again. "By the way, how's your friend, Nostrad? I reckon he will come to visit me and my little sister as well?"

Beads of cold sweat started to appear on Zenji's bald and oily forehead and temple. The little sister had been like a wild snow tiger on leash that seemed to be ready to snap his whole arm off given the chance, while the older sister was as creepy as a witch.

"Who told you all these, dammit?"

"Who else? They have been happy to inform me all these, you know." She grinned.

"They?" Murai frowned uneasily. Suddenly, he felt all queasy.

"Those guys around you. Oh, I forgot you can't see them, let alone communicating with them." She giggled with amusement. "My bad."

Shekinah really wanted to laugh out loud when she saw their expressions. At the mention of 'you can't see them'; the two had turned as pale as chalk and stood rigidly as if frozen to the ground. She could practically hear Zenji gulping and Murai holding his breath. Her grin grew wider.

"Come, Murai. I need to send the invitations." Zenji turned around awkwardly and almost dashed towards the exit.

"I'll be more than happy to oblige." Murai hurried after his boss without throwing a second glance to the freakish girl. Shekinah deliberately let go of her triumphant and gleeful giggles, which served only to spur the two men away from her confinement room.

"_Mission accomplished._" She projected to Seraphita smugly, who only shook her head in response to her sister's antics.

***

Bashou looked at the envelope in his hand nervously, as if it was a bomb that could go off anytime. It was obviously from Zenji, and he did not have to be a clairvoyant to know that whatever function Zenji had invited his boss to come to, it would only end up in a disaster. The stocky man sighed and his shoulder sagged.

"Well, no points lingering here like an idiot. Might as well get it done as soon as possible." With that, he braced himself and knocked on the door of his boss' personal room.

"Come in." Came the muffled sound of his boss. As Bashou opened the door and slipped into the luxurious room, he spotted Kurapika and Senritsu standing in front of the mafia boss. Bashou gave them an acknowledging nod, which the two replied back with a similar nod.

"An invitation." He announced as he handed the letter to his boss.

"From who?"

"Zenji." He said deadpan. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Kurapika frowning with distaste. Bashou wanted to sigh, but refrained himself. He knew a certain blond had punched the fat man until he broke his nose.

"That bastard?!" Nostrad bellowed as he ripped the envelope carelessly. "What would that rat want—" He stopped abruptly as he read the letter. Something caught his attention, and from the looks of his employer's face, Bashou knew that it was not a good sign.

"Boss? What's wrong?" Senritsu, the ever sensitive woman, asked him with detached concern. She did not really like her employer as well.

"THAT BASTARD." Nostrad tore the letter into pieces with such fury that the veins on his temple were throbbing. "HAS CAUGHT THE TWO REMAINING DEUS! WITH NOONE DEAD!"

As the boss continued ranting furiously, his strings of curses embellished with foul language, Kurapika frowned deeply while Senritsu looked at him with sincere concern. She had heard Kurapika's heart missed a beat when he heard the news. Kurapika mumbled an excuse to leave, and took his leave without even bothering to wait for Nostrad's approval. Senritsu hastily did the same and trailed after Kurapika. Once outside the office, Senritsu interrogated the boy.

"Tell me what's wrong. And you are not getting away this time. The girl from last time, she is a Deus, correct? So she gets caught by Zenji?" She held Kurapika's wrist with iron grip, determined not to let the boy escape. She knew that with his strength, Kurapika could easily shake her off but in doing so will hurt her. Knowing him to be gentle, Senritsu was dead sure he would not do that.

"That's the conclusion I can come up with." He nodded without looking at Senritsu.

"Are you going to help her?" Senritsu had expected him to say yes, but was surprised to find the boy hesitating. "Kurapika, you are helping her, right?"

"I don't know." He admitted. He was still upset over the fact that Seraphita was 'related' to Kuroro Lucifer and her not telling him at all. He still had his doubts over her sincerity.

"Why? What's wrong? Tell me, Kurapika." Senritsu tugged his hand, forcing him to tell her.

With reluctance, Kurapika told her briefly how she had tried to make him forget his oath of vengeance and instead lived without hatred, and how he caught her having friendly conversation with Kuroro Lucifer as he left from her apartment. He told her how the girl had said that Kuroro was her 'older brother'. Senritsu listened intently as Kurapika spoke, nodding and frowning all the while. When he was finished, Senritsu still frowned at him.

"You think she lied to you in order to make you forget about your hatred to the Spiders." It was more of a question than a statement. Kurapika nodded.

"If you ask me, Kurapika, from what I can tell you from her heartbeats I've heard the first time I met her, I can tell that she is an honest and straight-forward girl. It's highly unlikely for her to scheme for something like that."

Now that he rethought of it, Kurapika realized belatedly that the reason he was willing to befriend the girl was because of the honest and straight look she had given him every time she looked at him with her liquid golden eyes. Those eyes had the same straightforwardness as Gon's. He had been a fool to think that she could have deceived him, his logic overridden by his emotion. He should have known better than accusing her of being a traitor. Kurapika felt ashamed of himself. He slumped into the nearby couch and buried his face in his hands, with his elbows rested on his laps. Senritsu, who noticed the anxiety in his heartbeats, smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

"She will forgive you, Kurapika. I know she will. She IS a good girl, you told me that yourself, remember?" She said gently in a soothing voice. Kurapika nodded again and whispered a 'thank-you', which Senritsu accepted with a knowing smile. When he looked up again, determination was etched on his oceanic blue eyes.

"Help me, Senritsu?" He smiled.

"Anything, Kurapika."

***

As usual, Shalnark was busy researching for their next mission. He hummed some random songs as he surfed through the net, hacking into systems to get what he wanted. Meanwhile, the rest of the group was having brief meetings on their next raid. He was about to shut down his computer when he decided to take a quick scan on the hunter's web. What he found caught him off guard that he gaped like an idiot in front of the computer.

"Feitan and Phinks will—"

"DANCHOU!!" Before realising it, Shalnark had practically called out to his leader with excessively loud voice. He clasped his mouth with both his hands in embarrassment as the other members looked at him wide-eyed.

"What's wrong, Shalnark? You don't usually yell like that." Kuroro sauntered towards the computer wizard, thinking of possibilities on what had gotten the young man to be excited, or horrified in any case, that he forgot his usual calm demeanour.

"You may want to see this…" Shalnark said with small voice as he leaned to his side to let Kuroro had a better view on his computer screen.

Kuroro bent over and took a quick glance at the screen but As soon as he looked at the two pictures displayed on the Hunter's web, he frowned deeply. He took the mouse and began reading through the entire article more carefully, a gesture he rarely showed. If he needed any information on the net, he would usually order Shalnark to harvest anything useful but he would not touch the computer himself. Noticing his unusual behaviour, Shalnark got off from his seat to let the leader had the space he needed. Soon enough, his comfy little corner was crowded with the curious members.

"Hey, what's happening? Anything interesting you found, Shalnark?" Nobunaga, who could not get any closer to the compute since he was stuck outside the crowds, called out to Shalnark.

"A very interesting article, indeed." The young man nodded in contemplation. By the time Kuroro finished reading the article, plans would be changed. He was sure of it.

"Big news?"

"A very big one." Shalnark squeezed himself out of the crowds to talk to Nobunaga more comfortably. "The Deus sisters were caught by Zenji."

"Oh, those two g—THEY WHAT?!!" Nobunaga screamed as he grabbed Shalnark's arms, his big eyes bulged out, threatening to pop out of their sockets.

"Easy, Nobu, easy. And stop shaking me!" Shalnark begged, since he was about to get vertigo since the samurai had shaken him by his arms violently. He almost believed that the dumb samurai was trying to shake the information out of him. When Nobunaga had finally released him, Shalnark sighed.

"Like I said, those two were caught by Zenji. He was giving out invitations to the other mafia bosses since he wants to boast about his new addition to his treasures. He is going to display them as his assets." Shalnark frowned at his last sentence. "I don't like the idea, though."

"LEMME AT THEM!" Before Nobunaga could run off to chop some mafia boss' head, Franklin had taken the liberty to restrain him by locking the smaller samurai with his massive arms.

"I know you have a soft spot on them, Nobu, but you need to calm down." Franklin tried to reason with him. Nobunaga had cried river when he told them of his spiritual encounter with Uvogin's spirit. He was really grateful towards Shekinah, who had given him the chance to say proper goodbye to his best friend.

"I thought they were much better than this. To think that they can get caught by those pigs." Feitan snorted mockingly as he walked away from the crowds. Machi gave him a stern look, but he ignored it.

"Yeah, I wonder about that too. Something must have happened to them before the fat pig caught them. Heck, the little sister could take on four of us singlehandedly." Phinks joined the discussion while scratching the back of his head out of habit.

Thus they launched into a session of who-can-come-up-with-the-best-guess-on-how-the-sisters-got-caught-by-the-mafia-pigs. Bets followed suit soon after. They were in the peak of their own excitement, when Kuroro suddenly spoke up.

"They were still recovering from the side-effect of Necromancy." He told them deadpan.

"One good night sleep was not enough? She slept like a corpse for the entire day and that's not enough? Besides, the little sister didn't perform it, right?" Phinks debated.

"Most of her Nen reserves were used to support the older sister. They were at their weakest state last night. Zenji has been lucky. If both had been in their normal state, they could reduce the entire army thrown at them into nothingness. Literally." Kuroro had witnessed such case, after all.

Everyone looked at each other. They knew that Kuroro was not the type who exaggerated things. If the leader said so, that meant that the sisters' powers could really reach that extent. Machi looked at her arms again. She had developed a habit lately, since Seraphita had reattached her arms into their normal state, after she had severed them. Unconsciously, she would trace the invisible line where the cut had been with her finger. She might dislike the notion but she respected the girl for her skills. She was talented, and that was irrefutable.

"So what do we do now, Danchou?" She inquired with soft voice. Shalnark grinned at her, since he knew what the leader would say.

"Change in plan."

***

* * *

**_Next_**_: As both Kurapika and Kuroro came to know of the sisters' captivity, both planned to rescue them. A rescue team was formed by accident, consisting of the most unlikely partners._


	9. Chapter 9 : Unlikely Event

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hunter x Hunter or the characters in it, only the OCs..._

_**Story so far**: Seraphita and Shekinah were caught by Zenji, and they were displayed as living artifacts belonging to him. Kurapika intended to save Seraphita, while Kuroro had sneaked in to help both. However, something just had to happen, or to be precise, Kurapika had to be unlucky in such situation._

* * *

_**CHAPTER 9: Unlikely Event**_

He paced about his office impatiently and ceaselessly, only stopping to fish a luxurious cigar out of his pocket and lighting it with his shaking hand. His 'partner-cum-guest' sat on the leather couch uneasily, finger fidgeting as he stared at them. The tapping sound of his expensive shoes on the carpeted floor was maddening, and the ticking sound of the clock was deafening. For the umpteenth time of the night, Zenji stopped and sighed heavily.

"So? It's all over the Hunter's site now?" He asked again while pinching the bridge of his crooked nose.

"Yeah." The man answered weakly. Zenji swore loudly and foully, making the younger man jolted in his seat in surprise.

"Some rats will smell the cheese and sneak their way into my mansion to steal them." He growled viciously, his eyes burning with rage.

"I won't worry about the hunters, if I were you." The man mumbled to himself, but Zenji heard it nonetheless.

"What do you mean?"

"You heard of Genei Ryodan?"

Zenji barked a laugh. "Who hasn't heard of them? They are the most notorious rat around here. What about them?"

"Well, my network said some of the members are hunters. They can access the website, you know." He spoke slowly, letting the words sank into Zenji's small brains. The man frowned.

"You're saying that they will try to kidnap those girls? Unlikely. They are not interested in living artefacts." Zenji waved dismissively and impatiently with his hand. He continued pacing in a circle. The younger man wondered whether he would see a depression on the carpet or not, since Zenji had been doing it for quite a long time already.

"The thing is…the man who caught the younger Deus overheard the girl's conversation. He said the girl called Kuroro Lucifer her older brother." Murai offered hesitantly.

This time, Zenji stopped and turned to face the Hunter with ashen face. His mouth went ajar so big the cigar dropped to the floor. His eyes bulged out, threatening to pop out of their sockets.

"Kuroro Lucifer is not a Deus." He said with horrified voice. "Isn't he?"

"Who knows?" Murai shrugged nervously. Zenji cursed again.

"If the nastiest rat is going to infiltrate my building, then I'll need the nastiest cat." He muttered while taking his phone out and dialled a certain number. "This is going to cost me a great deal."

***

"_How do we make our escape then?_" Sera asked her sister as she pretended to sleep on her mattress. She had complained really badly that being suspended from chains were uncomfortable and threatened to continue complaining until the guard gave in for the fear of his sanity and let her had her mattress. She was still chained, though.

"_Hmm…I can summon Loki to break the chains. How about you?_"

"_The safest thing I can do is to extend my fingernails and sharpen them just enough to cut the manacles. _"

"_Good enough, although that will take quite some time._" Shekinah nodded in contemplation as she lay down on her mattress. She had taunted her guards to let her had her mattress as well. The poor man now had huge eye-bags and black rings due to self-inflicted sleep deprivation, since Shekinah had heartlessly taunted him of the spirits residing in the dungeon; which was all bluff actually. She would not waste her energy on talking with the spirits, really.

"_I wonder when Kuroro nii-san will notice our captivity._" Seraphita thought out loud.

"_Will he even come?_" Shekinah asked sceptically. She had treated him badly.

"_Duh, of course he will._" Seraphita rolled her eyes. "_I bet he'll come in a huff, and scold me for being reckless._" She grimaced at the thought. She remembered from distant memories 10 years ago on how Kuroro, who was still a teenager at that time, had badly scolded her when she ventured into the City of Shooting Star without him.

"_How can you be so sure? He doesn't think of us as important._"

"_Oh, come on. If that's the case, he won't even bother to look after you when you were out cold due to overexertion from performing Necromancy. He'd just drop you in the apartment and left, end of story. But he stayed the whole day, waiting for you to wake up._"

"_He did?_"

"_Nee-san, would _I_ lie to you?_" Seraphita snorted.

"…_No you won't._"

"_If you ask me, I think something happened to him that he forgot our promise. From his expression, I could tell that he was bothered about it. Nii-san doesn't strike me as a forgetful person._"

"_Maybe yes, maybe no._"

"_Stop sounding so cynical, will you? Now back to the main issue, how do we escape? Do we wait until he's finished showing us off, or do we escape before that?_"

"_We stay. If Kuroro really wants to help us, he'll join the invited guests to gain easy access to this mansion. I bet it'll be heavily guarded that day, and he won't want unnecessary ruckus._"

"_How do you know all this?_"

"_Observation. I've heard them planning on some raids before, and that's how they worked most of the time. Either really stealthily, or waltzed in with the mindset of killing-anything-that-got-in-our-way, depending on each mission._" There was a hint of displeasure when she said the last part, and she frowned at it.

"_Okay, we wait and see._"

"_How about your Kuruta friend? He works for Nostrad, right? He should know that you are captured by now._"

"_Kurapika? He won't come to our rescue._" Seraphita said with sad tone.

"_Why not? I thought you two are good friends._"

"_We _WERE_. He saw me seeing nii-san off from our apartment that night._" She said with small voice.

"_Oh._" Shekinah blinked. "_Bad timing. What did he accuse you of?_"

Seraphita smiled bleakly as she heard this. Her sister really grasped the situation fast, but the context was just too uncomfortable. "_Typical. He thought we were members of the Genei Ryodan. He thought I had been lying to him all this time, thinking that I was trying to brainwash him to forget his hatred and vengeance towards Kuroro nii-san._"

"_In a way yes._" Shekinah snickered.

"_Nee-san!_"

"_Anyway, conserve your energy. If things go wrong and none of them appear to help us, we'll just make our way out of here. Ok?_" Shekinah slipped away from the conversation while continued smirking in her pretended sleep.

"_Fine, fine._" Seraphita grumbled and cut off their mental link. She opened her eyes and stared to the white wall. The presence of the guard was becoming a nuisance for her heightened sense. She considered chasing him out of her 'room', but she only mentally shook her head. Seraphita tried to sleep for real, since there was nothing else to do anyway, but still one thing bothered her. It nagged at the bottom of her consciousness, like an annoying worm. Something bad was going to happen, but she had no idea on what it was.

Just as her consciousness was about to slip into slumber, another presence came into the room. She heard no creaking sound of the door being opened. Alerted, her cat ears stood up in attention. She heard nothing. As she dared herself to flutter open her eyes, she noticed a very small butterfly was floating in front of her face. She was bewildered on how the butterfly could go in, but that question left her head as soon as she heard the message that the butterfly had to tell her. Being a Deus, Seraphita could hear the thoughts of animals and plants around her if they tugged into her mind strong enough, even without her having to draw her Nen. This time, the butterfly had personally come to her without her bidding, and the information it had was crucial. Her liquid golden eyes widened in pure horror.

"Kurapika!" She gasped softly as the butterfly hovered about her face with agitation.

***

"What the hell do you think you are doing here?" He hissed venomously under his breath. Despite the intensity in his words, he still suppressed it to the point that normal people would not be able to catch his words. But the person he was talking to was no ordinary person. Kurapika stood a good distance away from the person while maintaining his cool and well-trained professional look of a bodyguard. His stance remained guarded and alert, yet he could feel his blood boiling. There, standing right next to him, was his nemesis in disguise.

"Rare living artefacts always intrigue me, you should know that best." Kuroro smirked at him, yet kept his face straight nonetheless. "Do you know where they are kept?"

Kurapika snorted in disdain and looked at him with disbelief with a slight turn of head. "Like I'll tell a bandit that kind of classified information." It took all he had to keep his eyes from glowing bloody red.

"I thought so." Kuroro deliberately sighed softly, which earned him another glare from the blond. A few minutes of silence passed as both stood side by side at arm's length. Kurapika stood tensely, while Kuroro stood in a more laid back manner.

"How did you do it?" Kurapika asked again with suspicion thick in his voice.

"Pardon?" Kuroro turned to him slightly and flashed a thin grin. Kurapika cursed inwardly; Kuroro clearly knew what he was referring to, yet he still wanted to _play_ with him.

"To slither your way into his bodyguard squad." Kurapika clarified resentfully while nodding his head to the direction of a certain mafia boss.

"I have my resources." Kuroro straightened his face and stared at random things. True, nobody would have guessed that he was Kuroro Lucifer from the way he was dressed. He donned the black suit complete with black tie that matched the other bodyguards. His hair was still the usual jet black, but they were let down messily. Half of his face was covered with bandage, with burn marks underneath. Kuroro imagined how the Kuruta boy would react if he told him that he had applied the make-up himself. The expression would be priceless, but he did not want to mess things up yet by upsetting the genuine bodyguard of one of the mafia boss. As for how he got into the squad, well he just needed to apply and displayed his capability in combats, and the employer was more than happy to welcome him in.

"What are they to you?" Kurpika asked, and Kuroro gave him a quizzical look. "Sera said you are her older brother, but you obviously are not related by blood."

"Oh… So you are the friend she has been seeing all this time." Kuroro chuckled pleasantly.

"Are they like your family?" Kurapika asked again, trying to ignore the implication of Kuroro's words.

"Nothing less." Kuroro answered deadpan.

Kurapika had opened him mouth to protest, but he stopped as the low murmurs in the ballroom suddenly receded as Zenji stepped up the podium and cleared his throat. He scanned the room with smug expression, especially when his sight landed on Nostrad, who glared at him begrudgingly.

"As you have seen from my invitation letters, recently I have acquired two most valuable living artefacts in the world." He boasted. "They are most elusive living artefacts to be obtained, and yet I finally have my hands on them. Let me show you my latest addition to my collection: the last two remaining members of the legendary Deus clan!"

The guards nodded at their cue, and opened the door behind Zenji. Two hulking figures entered the room while dragging behind them two lavishly dressed girls with manacles around their wrists. Both had a bored and uncaring look on their faces, while shooting deathly glares at the uneasy guards shepherding them to the stage. Both complied to stand on the stage as good girls, while scanning the audience with their unusually coloured eyes. Shekinah's purple eyes landed on a certain burn-scarred man, while Seraphita's amber eyes fell on a certain blond.

Kuroro's dark eyes met hers, and he nodded slightly and smiled thinly at her. Shekinah's face betrayed none of the emotions raging in her heart, and she expertly sported the uncaring look she had on her face. After five seconds, she looked away. Seraphita, on the other hand, felt butterflies in her stomach as her eyes met Kurapika's. She quickly looked away and began searching for another face that she hoped was within the vicinity. Kurapika tasted bile as Seraphita looked away from him. He felt guilty, and thought the girl now despised him for being so narrow-minded and emotion-ridden the other night. If he had paid more attention, she would not have got caught by the greedy pig Zenji.

Without him noticing it, Zenji was leering at him with a triumphant grin under his broken nose. Kuroro, however, did not fail to notice this. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing this unusual reaction. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the boy getting distracted by the cold response that Seraphita had given her. He looked over to the stage, and noticed that Seraphita was not looking his way. Although her body language said nothing, Kuroro saw her golden eyes scanning the room in a rather frantic way. He frowned slightly. Something had happened, and it had to do with the Kuruta boy next to him. After a few seconds of mulling it over, Kuroro could roughly guess the answer to his question. He narrowed his eyes.

_This is getting interesting—and dangerous._ He thought while giving the boy next to him a thoughtful quick glance.

Shekinah felt the uneasiness emitting from Seraphita. She frowned slightly at this and observed her from the corner of her eyes. She was not doing anything funny or risky, but she could see that the colour had left her face. She then heard soft murmurings from her as she stared unfocused to the stage floor.

"_Sera? What's wrong?_" She asked mentally. "_What are you doing?_"

"_Give me a minute, I'll explain later_." There was panic in her voice. Seraphita stared to the floor and her snowy cat ears flipped up and willed both her hearings keener.

"Senritsu, if you hear me, give me a signal." She whispered softly.

Nothing.

"Senritsu, if you hear me, give me signal. This is important." She repeated with more urgency in her hushed whisper. She had not known Senritsu personally, but Kurapika had mentioned of her and her Hell's Ears. Right now, she was her only hope.

She heard tinkling bell from the second floor balcony. Normal people would not have heard it, especially in a buzzing place where everyone was murmuring excitedly as they appreciated the two living artefacts standing on the stage, but her keen cat hearings heard it. Slowly, so as not to raise suspicions, she raised her heard and glanced to the balcony. There, she saw a small figure behind the railings of the balcony. Relief surged her heart.

"Senritsu, you must help me. Get Kurapika away from this place. Nostrad knows he is a Kuruta; he wants to capture Kurapika tonight."

***

"Well, I didn't expect the two of you to be such good girls." Zenji eyed the two girls with calculation. He had half expected that they would throw tantrums or caused ruckus the moment they were ushered into the ballroom. He thought that the younger girl would start thrashing the ballroom, and the older one would start by freaking the hell out of his guests by her 'ghost stories'. Apparently they did not.

"What are you thinking? I saw an unusually large army of guards stationed out there. You were expecting something, or someone, to come?" Shekinah asked him back, while she sat on the soft couch next to Shekinah, who still looked rather pale.

"Darn right, you remind me of something." Zenji said uneasily. "How are you related to Kuroro Lucifer? Is he really your brother?"

Both sisters looked up and stared incredulously at him. Suddenly, Shekinah broke into a ring of pleasantly sounding laughter, despite it being a mirthless laughter. While Seraphita gave her a puzzled look, Zenji and Murai looked at her with horrified expression. They had had enough of their shares of being freaked out by Shekinah's odd behaviours. They waited patiently until Shekinah stopped her laughter.

"Are you dumb aside from being outrageously ugly? He obviously is not a Deus. All Deus have brightly coloured eyes." She sneered at her captors, which earned her a hard slap from the enraged fat man.

"Nee-san!" Seraphita sprung to her feet, but Murai quickly grabbed her collar and dragged her aside to prevent her from charging towards Zenji.

"Bring that girl to her cell and interrogate her. This one seems to know more of our rat, I'll handle this one." Zenji said between his gritted teeth, all fear of her taunting remarks forgotten.

Murai silently nodded and dragged the squirming and protesting girl in his arms out of the room. As the door was closed behind him, Zenji rummaged through his drawer and fished out a leather whip. He brandished it in front of Shekinah's face and grinned maniacally.

"Now answer me, girl. Where is he?"

Unwavering, Shekinah gave him a steady glare with her uncanny purple eyes. "I'm not telling you a single thing." She snapped.

"How unwise." Zenji toyed with his whip to intimidate her, but it had no apparent effect on her. "Do you need me to torture the answer out of you first?"

Shekinah straightened her body and tilted up her chin in a regal manner. She stared at him bravely and her eyes betrayed no fear.

"Go ahead if you can."

***

"What is that bastard going to do to my sister?" Seraphita screamed at her captor, who had dumped her to her mattress as soon as they reached her 'room'. The said man was now inhaling a cigar while leaning against the white-tiled wall.

"I'll start worrying about my situation first, if I were you." He said casually while puffing a thin cloud of smoke from his mouth. He heard the girl scowling noisily and he sighed heavily before putting off the cigar.

"Listen, girl. I don't want to make it hard and difficult for us. You just give me the answer I want, and that's all. I'm not gonna do anything to you." He approached her and squatted in front of her.

Seraphita cringed her nose as soon as he was near; he reeked of smoke and she hated the smell. It made her dizzy. She inched away from him with a look of obvious disgust on her face. To her chagrin, the man smiled amusedly at her. He even leaned forward closer to her. He looked at her eyes with great interest.

"You know, you eyes are really captivating. I find you very appealing." He began leering at her, and she felt goose-bumps all over her body. Before she could say anything, with a strong arm he pushed her by her shoulders that she fell on her back to her mattress. He loomed over her then. The look on his face made her stomach churned and she could feel her face turned ashen.

"I have all the time I want to get the information I want from you." He grinned lecherously as he traced a finger down from her chin lower to her collar bone. Seraphita's eyes widened in pure terror as her body stiffened with newfound horror. Murai was so focused on her body that he failed to see her pupils narrowing into cat's pupils while the golden irises burned feral.

***

[_Hello, Danchou? What now?_] Shalnark's childish voice asked from the other end of the line. Kuroro stood at a secluded corner of the buzzing ballroom. He had sneaked his way out of the line of visions of everyone in the ballroom, including the Kuruta boy.

"Coltopi and Shizuku can proceed to the treasuries, the rest proceed with the distractions. I will handle things inside." Kuroro leaned against the marble pillar. There was a short pause before Kuroro continued. "Things are getting interesting here."

[_Do you need backup there, Danchou?_]

"No, I'll be fine on my own." Kuroro said while glancing quickly towards a certain blond a distance away. His _mission_ now involved the chain-user, so it would be best not to involve the other Spiders.

[_Okay. When do we start?_]

"Now." Kuroro quickly answered as he saw Nostrad called at the Kuruta boy to follow him, and the boy complied without suspecting a thing.

[_Roger that_.]

Kuroro hung up and pocketed his phone without wasting a second. He glanced at his 'employer', who was busy flirting with some rich ladies adorned in expensive jewelleries. Seconds later, a huge explosion rocked the ground. It came from outside of the building, and just as he suspected, the ballroom went chaotic. The bodyguards all tensed up, some rushed outside to investigate the explosion, followed by the screams of some unfortunate guards who either lost their limbs or lost their lives. Kuroro smirked as he nodded in approval on how quick his subjects could respond to his orders. Amidst the chaos, Kuroro sneaked his way out of the ballroom, following the path that the Nostrad had taken earlier.

***

"Two fine pieces work of arts, don't you agree, Kurapika? Those two girls." Nostrad randomly commented as he walked down the corridor with Kurapika following behind him.

"Yes." Kurapika responded monotonously in bored tone.

"Too bad I lost them last time. And that Zenji bastard is so annoying." Nostrad grumbled. Kurapika was used to the curses his employer directed towards the greedy pig, but he noticed the lack of venom in his tone. They stopped in front of a door and Nostrad entered it. Kurapika followed in and closed the door. As he turned around, Nostrad was already seated at the furthest end of the room, with two hulking figure in front of him, as if acting as barrier. Kurapika glanced around the room and noticed a number of Nen users in the room. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"But I owe him one now." Nostrad continued casually as he leaned back against the soft leather couch and poured a red wine to his glass. "He enlightened me of a great treasure that has been with me all this time." With smug face, he raised his wine in a toast gesture. "I should have suspected that you are the last survivor of the Kuruta clan. Cheers, Kurapika."

Answering to this cue, the Nen-users pounced at him. Kurapika instinctively summoned his Dowsing Chain for defense; he could not use the Chain Jail because it was restricted in use for the Spiders only; otherwise he would die if he used it. Just as he moved about to knock one attacker coming his way, he felt a sharp prick on the back of his neck. Reflexively he groped his nape with his chain-free hand and found a long needle poked into his nape. While dodging the incoming attacks, he plucked out the needle and inspected it. Suddenly, his knees went weak and his chain disappeared.

"What—" He spun around and spotted a man holding a blowpipe trained towards him.

"The needle is treated by a special concoction infused with my Nen." The man explained as he put away his blowpipe. "It will freeze your Nen."

Kurapika's blood seemed to stop flowing. Freeze his Nen? That only meant that he could not access his Nen anymore. He could literally feel his face turning ashen white, and soon enough he was pinned down to the ground by another Nen-user the size of a gorilla.

"Be a good boy, Kurapika, and I will treat you real good. You are, after all, a very precious treasure of the Kuruta tribe."

Fuelled with rage as if Nostrad had insulted him, Kurapika's eyes turned crimson red and they gleamed eerily, penetrating the dark contact-lens he was wearing. Nostrad noticed the change and smiled triumphantly. Kurapika tried to wriggle out of the man's grasp, but he was paralyzed by the weight of the humongous man.

"It saddens me to lose those two girls, but at least I have you now." Nostrad clapped his hands gleefully, like a child who got his hands on his favourite toys. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. All heads turned towards the door and eyed it warily, especially Nostrad. He frowned at this. He did not remember calling for anyone.

"Who's there?"

Without any reply, there a soft click and the doorknob were turned. The door swung open and slowly revealed the man behind it. It was a man with half his face covered in burn marks and bandages. His stoic face stared at Nostrad with bored expression, but his stance was rather laid back despite his straight and smart posture. Kurapika gave a small gasp, but wisely zipped his mouth close as the man shot him a warning glance.

"What do you want?" Nostrad asked suspiciously. Before the man could even answer, the man closest to the door had lunged towards him with a knife directed to the man's abdomen. With ease, the man with bandage caught his arm and twisted it until a sickening sound of a crushed bone was heard. It was followed by the man's agonizing wail as he clutched his ruined arm.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" Nostrad yelled at the writhing man as he jumped to his feet in rage.

"I locked the door, dammit! He ain't no ordinary man!" The man screamed at his employer.

Immediately, all the Nen-users assumed their fighting stance and looked at the man with bandage with wary anticipation. Nostrad turned into puddle and retreated to his seat, cold beads of sweat forming on his temple and forehead.

"I have a business to do with the boy there." The man said casually as he nodded his head towards Kurapika's direction, who scowled at him.

"He is my property now!" Nostrad said with trembling voice.

"Unfortunately, I must retrieve him." The man gave him an insincere apologetic look. In a blink of eyes, from Nostrad's point of view, the man disappeared and reappeared again. Suddenly, all the guards and Nen-users in the room collapsed to the floor with a thin pin the size of ice-breaker embedded deep into either their napes or their foreheads.

"I expected more of you, Kuruta." The man shook his head in mock disappointment.

"They sealed my Nen away." Kurapika retorted while pushing the hulk off his body with a grunt. The man had the similar pin on his nape, and now he had joined his maker.

"And that renders your fighting ability to zero that you couldn't fight back these…people?" Kuroro nudged a dead body with his well-polished shoe.

"Shut up. Why did you come here, anyway? I don't think you come here to selflessly help me." Kurapika growled at him while dusting the invisible dusts off his tribal attire.

"A certain dark-haired girl will be most displeased if I let you get captured." He chuckled while turning his back towards Kurapika and began walking towards the door.

"You don't know that." Kurapika said at Kuroro uneasily. The leader of the notorious Genei Ryodan actually had rescued him from the prospective captivity just with _that_ basis. He had thought Kuroro was the type who would coldly turned his back against him, or even revelling in the fact that he was now held captive by his former employer. Perhaps sneered at him, that would be more acceptable by Kurapika's mind than _this_.

"I know that." Kuroro shrugged and was about to step out of the room when he stopped. He slowly spun on his heels and looked at Nostrad, who was cowering in his couch and was about to wet his pants. "I almost forgot."

"Who is he? Your friend?" Nostrad asked Kurapika with terror-filled eyes.

Kurapika snorted in disgust at his question. "With a Spider? Not in a million years." He spat as he glared dagger at Kuroro, who took it just casually; even with a smirk. How Kurapika longed to wipe that smirk off his face with his fist. He had to clench his fist tightly to prevent if from obtaining its own brain and started attacking Kuroro.

"A—a Spider? You mean, the—the—the Genei Ryodan?" Nostrad stuttered in fear.

"Kuroro Lucifer, at your service." Kuroro put his hand on his stomach and bowed politely, like a perfect gentleman. Just as Nostrad's mouth was parted to scream, the words stopped on his throat because something blocked it. Kurapika gasped audibly.

"You didn't have to do that!" Kurapika protested upon seeing an ice-breaker pin protruding from the throat of his now dead ex-employer. He sat there on the couch, his mouth agape and his eyes bulging with fear. A small stream of blood escaped from the puncture wound. He casted a quick scan around the room, and felt his stomach knotted uncomfortably. Well, at least it was not messy and bloody. It was a good job; quick and tidy.

"I do not take risk, Kuruta." Kuroro simply said as he straightened up and walked out of the room. Kurapika followed him, more than eager to escape the horrendous mass-murder scenery. "He obviously has interests in those girls, and will pursue them in the future given the chance."

"You are protecting them." Kurapika said with his most incredulous tone, as if Kuroro had turned into a pious preacher. Kuroro gave him a quizzical look, but said nothing to deny it.

"Now, where are they kept?" He voiced out loud his thoughts deliberately. Kurapika glared at him, but sighed in defeat. The seal had disappeared from his Nen since the owner of the Nen was dead. Just as Kurapika extended his hand, attempting to summon his Dowsing Chain, a pair of footsteps approached from the other end of the corridor. Alerted, Kurapika spun around, only to see Senritsu and Bashou running towards him with pale faces.

"Kurapika, you okay?" Bashou called out at him with concern in his voice. They both stopped in front of him and gasped for blessed air as they tried to compose themselves.

"I'm okay. What happened?"

"Seraphita told me that Nostrad was planning to capture you." Senritsu said between her gasps. "We went searching for you, but you have gone missing."

Kurapika raised an eyebrow upon hearing Senritsu's words. Seraphita knew it and told that to Senristu? When? Where? He did not notice it at all. It seemed that the bewildered look was so apparent on his face that Kuroro had to step in and enlighten him.

"When she was ignoring you on the stage, I think she was looking for the small lady here." Kuroro offered casually, with his hands in the pockets of his black pants.

"Huh? Who is he?" Bashou eyed him warily with calculating eyes, which did not bother Kuroro at the very least. Senritsu, however, gasped with horror as soon as she turned her attention to Kuroro.

"You are—" Senritsu covered her mouth with her hands, as if afraid that her heart would jump from its designated place in her chest and escaped from her mouth. Kurapika grimaced at Senritsu's reaction.

"Who?" Bashou asked impatiently. He looked at Kurapika, then to Senritsu, and then to the man with bandage.

"Kuroro Lucifer." Senritsu whispered, her eyes widened in fear.

"WHAT?!" Bashou backed away one step from Kuroro, who just smiled at the small woman before him.

"How do you recognise me?" He asked politely.

"Your heartbeat. I won't forget it." She continued with choked voice.

"My heartbeat?" Kuroro looked at his chest and put a hand on the spot where his heart was supposed to be. A gesture that looked childish enough that Kurapika had to stare at him with disbelieving eyes.

Senritsu nodded. "It sounds as if you are living with death." _And is sadistically happy with it_, she added in her mind, but did not dare to voice it out loud. Surprisingly, Kuroro laughed at this.

"Is that so? Well, with my profession, death can come anytime, so it's just logical to anticipate it, no?" He glanced at Kurapika, who was frowning deeply.

"You deserve death." Kurapika said curtly with edge in his strained voice. Kuroro just shrugged, he was not in the mood for arguing with the boy, although he could see that it would be most interesting. He still had top priority mission to attend to.

"So, which way?" He asked Kurapika, who again scowled at him. Kuroro had yet to count how many times the boy had scowled at him in one night.

"I can't exactly pinpoint their location. It'll be much easier if there is a blueprint of this build—"

Kuroro tossed a blue roll of paper to him.

"There you go."

The boy frowned at him unhappily, but as he unrolled the blue piece of paper, his frowns ceased and he looked at Kuroro with surprise.

"How did you—forget it. I don't want to hear it." He shook his head and instead began focusing on his task.

Kurapika silently summoned his Dowsing Chain and began dowsing. Soon enough, he could locate the two girls' separate locations.

"They are both on the 3rd floor, Sera is in the east wing. The other one is somewhere near the west wing."

Suddenly, there were noises from behind them and when they looked around, and army of guards were already stampeding towards them. Some of them shouted "There they are!" and "Catch the blond one alive!" and "Kill the rest!" Kuroro shook his head, as if tired with the game.

"We don't have time for this." He said coolly.

"And what do you suggest we do? Outrun them?" Kurapika snapped at him. Nonetheless, he readied himself for battle.

"Leave them to us!" Bashou suddenly stepped in front of Kurapika and took a battle stance.

"Bashou?! But—"

"You go, Kurapika. I'll help him." Senritsu stepped forward and stood by Bashou's side, her flute ready in her hands.

"But…"

"Cut the crap, Kurapika. If you think this'll get us into trouble, don't let it bother you. 'Sides, they already seen us with you, they'll catch us anyway. Also, I feel like having some vacation after this, y'know? Working for Nostrad kind of bored me already." Bashou put up a thumb and signalled at him to go.

Kuroro looked at the mismatching duo for a while, and then to Kurapika. The boy seemed torn between helping his comrades and saving the sisters. Kurapika clenched and unclenched his fist, but made his decision fast.

"I'll leave them to you guys. And don't get killed!"

"No worries! Those buncha weaklings won't be able to harm us."

With that, Kurapika nodded at them and turned to Kuroro, who was already waiting.

"Well, come on, boy." He smirked at him and then dashed away with incredible speed. It took Kurapika by surprise, but he quickly regained his composure and tried to catch up with the older man.

Kuroro, who was leading the way, glanced over his shoulder and when he spotted the boy hot on his heels, he grinned. The boy was not so bad, after all, if he could catch up with him. Also, the entire situation was amusing enough for him; they were supposed to be enemies, and now they were working together momentarily for common goal. How ironic. Although, he had to admit that once the problem is solved, things would go back the way it was.

They would be enemies again once the rescue mission was over.

***

* * *

_**Author's Note**: Well, for those who anticipated some actions, I'm so sorry but I couldn't get the best scenario yet. And for Angeloflithium who requested for Hisoka's appearance, sorry but he can't appear yet. I'll try to put him into the story as soon as possible. I'll work hard for the next chapter. I hope it'll be action-filled since, yeah, there'll be some powerful people in the story. So...wish me luck (hope I won't bust my brain first before the chapter's completed)_

_**Next**: Kuroro and Kurapika set off to find the two sisters, and made their ways through the throngs of guards. In the end, they were intercepted by two people they both knew._


	10. Chapter 10 : To The Rescue

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hunter x Hunter, only the OCs_

_**Story so far**: Shekinah and Seraphita were captured by Zenji, while Kurapika and Kuroro had initially intended to go their separate way in rescuing the girls. However, due to some 'incidents', they ended up looking for the girls together; a very unlikely team. What they did not know, however, was that the girls were already in their own unaccounted troubles._

* * *

_**CHAPTER 10: To The Rescue**_

He swore loudly and foully as he jumped away and inspected the gashing wounds on his arms. Identical claw marks tinted his torn shirt bright crimson as fresh blood flowed freely from the open wound. He needed to stop the bleeding, otherwise he would die of blood lost first, but Murai was not sure whether he would have the chance to do so or not; before the creature before him tore him into shreds. He stared at the person responsible for the wounds and he could not help but to feel dread overwhelming his entire being.

Seraphita was crouching in a feline manner, like a cat ready to pounce. She bared her white teeth, and somehow they looked to him as if they had grown longer and sharper than normal teeth. Her pupils had narrowed until they formed slits resembling that of a cat's. Murai was dead sure that he had completely sealed off the girl's Nen, and he had checked it with his Gyo, but the girl seemed to be emitting a strange aura. A dark, suffocating aura thick with murderous intent. He shivered giddily as the aura touched him. It felt as if the aura itself was enough to strangle him to death. He had no idea how the girl could sharpen and extend her fingernail that they could rip off his flesh at ease.

Zenji had told him not to damage the girl, since she was a precious artefact. Heck, he would not stand still and let himself be the victim of the enraged living artefact. He valued his life more than this living artefact. Murai conjured his weapon and readied himself for battle with the berserk Deus girl. It was a scythe with long chain attached to the handle. Seraphita gave a deep, low growl from her throat. Her aura lashed around her dangerously while her snow cat ears stood up on her twilight crown of hair. Murai lunged at her and threw the scythe towards her. She dodged it easily, but Murai manoeuvred the scythe to her direction; he was a Manipulator. Seraphita extended her fingernails and deflected the weapon with the razor-sharp and steel-hard fingernails. With a cat's agility, she pounced at Murai and managed to slash his chest.

Murai yelped and jumped away from the girl. He jerked the chain to retrieve his weapon. Quickly he inspected the injury on his chest and was relieved to find it to be narrow. Blood oozed from the cut, but it was nothing fatal. When he looked up, the first thing he noticed of the girl was that the fingernails of her hands had all extended to a horrifying length and, God, he had never been so terrified by looking into a person's eyes before.

Seraphita's eyes had turned metallic platinum grey.

***

"There they are! Get them!"

Tons of guards kept coming after them, and they had to fight their way to the third floor. Kurapika tried his best to knock them out without killing them, while Kuroro just simply killed those who got in his way. Even in such dire situation, they still had time to bicker about it.

"You can just knock them out cold! There is no need to kill them!"

"And let them come after me again? That's just too troublesome."

"You heartless bastard." He hissed at him.

"Say what you want, but I'm just being prudent."

"Prudent? Don't give me that crap! You—"

"Rather than wasting your breath, why don't you try finding them with your Dowsing Chain while I clear the way?" He killed two more guards and dashed across the now empty corridor.

"Sheesh! You're impossible!"

Kurapika was itching to punch the light out of the older man, but he refrained himself from doing so because, in the situation they were in, it would not be of any help. Nevertheless, he summoned out his Dowsing Chain and began looking for the sisters. He navigated their way through the labyrinths of corridors, until finally they were closing to the room where Shekinah was held.

"She should be in the room at the end of this corridor. Turning left from this corridor will lead to Sera." He stated as he looked at the blueprint.

Kuroro said nothing and only nodded. They dashed towards the corridor, but suddenly both of them skidded into a halt in unison as both had sensed a great deal of Nen emitting from near the room. Soon enough, two people emerged from a room next to the room where Shekinah was held captive. Kurapika held his breath in a sharp gasp while Kuroro looked at them with calculating eyes, and noted that they had not changed since the last time he saw them. Zeno Zoldyck was still the witty old man and Silva Zoldyck still looked imposing and intimidating with his sturdy body. As Zeno looked at the two, his gaze landed on Kurapika.

"Oh? Young man, weren't you in the killer squad that was intended to hunt down him the last time? I didn't know that you are his acquaintance." Zeno asked him with amused tone.

"I am not his acquaintance. Last time, I really intended to kill him if I encountered him." Kurapika gave Kuroro a sideways glare.

"We are enemies, but this time we have a common goal..." Kuroro responded coolly, and he looked at the two professional assassins with purposeful eyes. "Against your employer."

"Hmmm..." Zeno narrowed his eyes as he thought of it. "I don't know what you have done this time, but our employer specifically requested that we exterminated you."

Kuroro narrowed his eyes slightly, and he turned to Kurapika.

"You go get Sera. I'll deal with them."

Kurapika looked at Kuroro with surprised eyes, but then he looked over to the two assassins that were standing in the way of the corridor which he had to take if he was to get to Sera. One wrong step, and he would be killed by Killua's grandfather.

"Don't worry, they won't kill you. It's me they're after. They won't waste their energy to go after someone who's not on their job list." He confidently told him.

_It won't take too much energy to kill me, given their level. They won't even break a sweat…_Kurapika thought as he rolled his eyes, but nevertheless he went as he was told. He looked at the two Zoldyck with wary eyes, and true enough they did not move to kill him at all. They let him go peacefully.

***

Kurapika arrived at her 'room' late. By the time he reached the room, the room was already repainted crimson. The stench of blood was overwhelming that Kurapika had to cover his nose with his hand and he felt butterflies in his stomach; the content threatening to climb up his oesophagus. In his life, he had never seen such a horrendous mutilation.

There, in the middle of the room, Seraphita was standing pretty much unscathed. Her fingernails were still extended, all ten drenched in thick dark blood. Her twilight hair was sticky with gore, and there were blood stains all over her face and clothes. Entrails and pieces of flesh were scattered everywhere in the room. The only thing that he could recognise from what remained of Murai was only his head, which was lying near Kurapika's feet. He really wanted to kick the head out of his sight, but decided against it.

"Sera, this—" Kurapika stopped as he felt her Nen lashing out.

Seraphita looked at him with unreadable face. Her liquid golden eyes, Kurapika noted, had turned metallic grey. Unlike the beautiful amber hue, this hue was cold and merciless; heartless and soulless. It was as if she had lost any humanity and turned into a killing machine. There was no smile, no lively expression, nothing. She just stared at them with blank expression. Kurapika could not recognise the girl standing before him.

The girl lifted up her arm and directed her fingers at them. Without any warnings, the fingernails extended with horrifying speed. Kurapika ducked just in time before the razor-sharp nails pierced his head. Seeing that she had missed her target, she retracted her nails again and took another aim. Soon enough, the two had engaged in a dance of dodging and aiming.

Kurapika found himself in quite a predicament. He could not use his Chain Jail on her, and he would not win against her with only Dowsing Chain. He had to knock her unconscious, but he could not even close the distance between them. Another thing that made him worry was the dense black aura surrounding her. If he looked more closely, it was purplish black. He remembered that her aura was supposed to be purple, so this had to be the concentrated version of her Nen.

"Sera, what's wrong with you?!" He yelled at her, trying to get her back to her senses. His shouts fell on deaf ears, and instead he earned a gash on his cheek as a fingernail grazed his cheek.

As Kurapika staggered and tried to recover his balance, Seraphita was already airborne with her leg aimed to his head. Unable to duck in time, Kurapika received the full blow on his head. The kick sent him flying across the room and he crashed into the tiled wall. He collapsed to the floor and debris of tiles fell on top of him. His skull felt as if it almost cracked and his head ached terribly. He saw stars and his vision blurred. He shook his head in attempt to clear his eyesight, only to receive yet another kick on his abdomen. He went into a coughing fit as he clutched his now bruised stomach.

Seraphita loomed over him, her hands in a clawing pose. All she needed was to extend her fingernails and they would skewer him to the floor, since he was cornered between her and the wall. Kurapika looked into her eyes, trying to search for any hints of the old Seraphita, but found nothing. There was only madness and bloodlust in them. As he braced for his fate to be lanced by her, there was a sound of the wall being torn down and soon Kurapika heard a faint voice of something thin swishing across the air. Sensing something was targeting her, Seraphita aborted her initial plan to skewer Kurapika and instead jumped away. Something struck the wall just above Kurapika's head; if Seraphita had not jumped away, her abdomen would have been struck instead.

When Kurapika looked up, he saw two cards protruding from the wall.

***

Kuroro waited until Kurapika was roughly out of earshot, and he spoke with the two assassins.

"I don't have time to entertain you." Kuroro said deadpan.

"Hmm…" Zeno raised an eyebrow. With his sharp eyes, he could see that the young man seemed to be losing his cool. "I heard that Zenji has acquired a certain treasure and he is afraid that you will steal it _back_. Did he steal it from you?"

Silva looked at his father, and then to Kuroro. He inwardly snorted. Silva knew that Kuroro was literally the King of Thieves; being the leader of the notorious Genei Ryodan. To have something stolen from him, that would be the perfect illustration of irony.

"Two particular living artefacts, the last two surviving members of a tribe." Again, Kuroro corrected them. "And yes, he kidnapped them."

"What are they, your friends? Comrades?" Zeno asked lazily. Before Kuroro could answer with any sarcastic remarks, Silva had stepped forward.

"From what tribe do they belong to?" He suddenly asked, his eyes narrowed. If his gut feelings were correct, things would be much more complicated. What more, Kuroro did mention the name 'Sera', and it rang a bell to him.

Zeno raised an eyebrow at his son's sudden interest with the so-called living artefacts. They usually never meddled with their client's personal life or business; they just did their assigned jobs, received the payments, and that was all. Kuroro became uneasy with Silva's sudden interest. He could not tell whether it was a good sign or not.

"Our tribe is called the Deus Clan." A voice answered Silva's question.

The three of them turned around as the door behind the two Zoldyck suddenly opened up. The door revealed Zenji's pale face, his hands brought up in a surrender position, while a platinum gun was trained to his head. Behind him was a tall girl with glinting silver hair, although the hair was tinted with crimson here and there. The girl's clothing was tattered here and there, the flesh beneath the clothing purple from the beatings from Zenji's unforgiving whip. Her purple eyes, despite the tattered condition she was in, shone with determination and hope. Inside the room, the guards all had their own share of gun pointed towards their forehead.

"So you are alright." Kuroro remarked, both relieved that she was pretty much fine but unhappy with the wounds she had. He pocketed his hands and relaxed his stance.

"These are all nothing. I've endured worse than this." Shekinah swept a strand of her silver hair from her face and tucked it behind her ears.

Silva looked at Shekinah with wide eyes; there was recognition in his eyes. Meanwhile, Zenji was looking at the two hired assassins with hopefulness, but seeing that none of them made a move, he blew.

"What—what are you doing there? Don't be useless! The target is right there! I want you to finish him off!" He shouted at them. The floating platinum gun made a clicking sound as it reloaded itself.

_Shut up or I'll blow you pathetic head off your neck._ Loki threatened him, and Zenji closed his mouth with a yelp.

"The job is cancelled." Silva said deadpan.

"WHAT?!" Zenji roared with indignation, forgetting Loki behind him.

"Why is that, Silva?" Zeno asked calmly. He did not mind with the cancelation, but this was the first time that Silva had purposely cancelled a job after accepting it. Silva looked at the girl again, while this time Kuroro was looking at him with questions in his eyes. Shekinah looked at him with mild interest.

"She is my friend's daughter."

His answer earned various responses. Zeno only said "oh?" and nothing more. Zenji's jaws dropped unceremoniously, his eyes nearly popped out of the sockets. Kuroro frowned with disbelief, while Seraphita's eyes widened considerably and she stared to Silva with incredulous look. She had never heard of it.

"You know my father?" She asked with small voice.

"Ramsal Deus." Silva crossed his muscled arms across his chest and nodded. He closed his eyes and recalled his only friend's face. It had been such a long time since his death.

"There should be another daughter. Where is she?" Silva stepped forward.

_Don't come any closer!_ Loki snarled.

"Loki, no." Shekinah wearily reined the guns from going into shooting rampage.

_But boss—_ It began to protest, but complied with grumbles as Shekinah shot it another warning glare. The guns dissolved into raw Nen and retreated into Shekinah's body. Shekinah eyed Silva with hopeful eyes. Before she could say anything, suddenly all of them, except for Zenji, felt the sharp surge of Nen from the east wing of the mansion. The Nen was overwhelming and coupled with murderous intent.

"It's Sera." She whispered with horror.

"This is Sera's Nen?" Kuroro frowned. Seraphita looked so harmless and gentle that it did not occur to him that she could emit such a deadly murderous intent. Again, another surge of Nen and this time the building shook coupled with a rumbling voice from the east wing. They all knew that a section of the east wing had collapsed from the sound of it.

"She is losing herself. We must get to her, otherwise she'll start killing everyone in the vicinity, including herself. Quick!"

Kuroro did not understand what was happening, but he knew that he had to trust the bond between the sisters. Shekinah dashed past him towards the east wing without even waiting for him. He was about to follow her but he stopped for a moment, and gave Silva a look.

"If you may, do her a favour." Kuroro gestured with a nod of his head towards the trembling Zenji on the floor.

Zenji only managed to gulp audibly, before his life flashed before him. He fell to the floor head first, with his bald head twisted to a strange angle while Silva was standing behind him. He knew very well of what Kuroro was hinting. As long as Zenji was alive, he would do anything either to get his hands on the sisters again, or to take revenge on them. Getting rid of him would be the best for the sisters. Kuroro nodded at him and dashed towards the direction that Shekinah pointed for him.

"What do we do now? You just killed our client." Zeno stared at the corpse uncaringly.

"There is something I must tell them." Silva said as he looked at the direction where Kuroro and Shekinah had disappeared to.

"Then get going."

***

"Aah…Look at what I found here…" Came a slurry voice that sent him goose-bumps.

"Hisoka…" Kurapika cringed as he saw the demented clown standing at the 'entrance' he had just made.

Seraphita crouched and growled, much like a panther ready to strike. Her feral eyes glared at the deranged joker, who was flicking his wrists as he played around with his cards. Hisoka ignored Kurapika completely, and his hungry gaze was fixed on the Deus girl. He licked his lips, a mad expression on his face. This gesture made Kurapika shuddered, but he dared not make any moves. He knew well enough of what Hisoka was capable of, but at the same time, he was painfully aware that the combination of Hisoka and Seraphita; who had just lost her human awareness, was the worst combination that spelled D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R.

"The feeling of your Nen…" Hisoka started, his eyes narrowing to a dangerous slit. "Is so, so delicious…"

As Hisoka laughed maniacally, he lunged at Seraphita and threw his cards at her. Seraphita manoeuvred herself out of the cards' way, but Hisoka followed her like iron powders to magnet. Before Kurapika could even exhale a single breath (he was not even aware that he was not breathing), the two were already engaged in a fierce battle.

Apparently Hisoka fared much better against the crazed Deus girl, as he managed to land some punches to the girl. Seraphita tore his flesh with her claws, but he did not even flinch the moments the wounds were inflicted; he was too absorbed in his excitement upon battling Seraphita.

"Aah…What enjoyment, what excitement!" Hisoka spread his arm in an embracing way, and he looked up to the ceiling. He closed his eyes and licked his lips again. "What a deliciously ripe fruit!"

Hisoka threw himself at Seraphita, and the girl responded by piercing one of his thigh with her claws. They skewered his thigh, but he only grunted in surprise, but nonetheless kept his advance steady towards her. He ignored the sound of his flesh tearing as he pushed his leg forward, the steely claw running through his flesh like it was nothing and his blood pouring endlessly. The stench of blood was overwhelming the whole room, and it made Kurapika nauseous. In surprise, Seraphita retracted her claws and cart-wheeled to the side to avoid Hisoka's cards. With inhumane agility, Hisoka followed her steps as if his legs had never been wounded.

With one hard blow, Hisoka sent the girl crashing into the wall. As he charged towards the staggering girl, his card ready in his hand, Seraphita's metallic grey eyes blazed and she mumbled some words that none of them understood. Before Hisoka could reach Seraphita, the floor shook and suddenly two gigantic tentacles emerged from the floor in a loud crashing sound. Upon closer inspection by Kurapika, who recovered from the shock fairly quick, they were ridiculously huge and fat tree roots. He had no idea from where those roots came, since there was no way such huge tree could exist in the building. It was a mansion, not a botanical garden, for goodness' sake.

The roots intended to crush Hisoka, and it chased after him like a predator chasing its prey. Due to the rigorous movements of the roots, the floor collapsed and they descended to the floor below, together with all the debris and everything. Kurapika managed to stay clear from the falling debris, and had found a safe spot at the corner of the room. Hisoka tried dodging those roots, but for such massive roots, they were fast. Soon enough, Hisoka had his legs locked by the roots, and he was practically trapped. Seraphita took her chance; she set the roots ablaze.

Kurapika let out a loud gasp as he saw Hisoka being burned alive. Hisoka struggled to free himself from the roots, but they would not budge. His clothes started to burn into ashes, his hair was singed and his skin was charred as the flame licked his vulnerable skin. Seraphita stood a few metres away from the blazing roots, unaffected by the intense heat emitted. She even smiled.

The young boy almost threw up as he caught the smell of burnt flesh. Although Kurapika resented Hisoka and preferred to stay clear from the demented clown, he was still not such a bad person (aside from his occasional craziness). He felt bad for him, but there was nothing he could do now, really. His voice could no longer reach Seraphita, she was practically unstoppable now. When Kurapika thought that he would be really seeing the end of Hisoka, he looked away, but suddenly he saw something strange from the corner of his eyes. He tried looking at the burning roots again, reluctantly, but this time he spotted something different. Hisoka was not there.

As Kurapika was still trying to figure out of what was happening, he heard another voice; a familiar voice.

"_Pantheon: Morpheus, lord of sleep, grant her undisturbed sleep to give her soul peace and rest._"

Pale blue light covered Seraphita, and she seemed to be unable to fight it. Soon, her eyelids became heavy and she dropped to the floor with a loud thud. As she fell unconscious, the blazing roots disappeared, and the room fell into pin drop silence. Kurapika, for the first time, exhaled a relief sigh, but hurriedly crawled towards the unmoving Seraphita to check her. He turned her around and checked her pulse; her body was functioning normally, and from the looks of it, she really was having a deep sleep.

"Are we too late?" Came a husked voice from above.

When Kurapika looked up, he saw Shekinah's pale face as she crouched at the edge of what remained of the upper floor. She disappeared from view, and Kurapika heard the rustles of clothes and soon enough, something was jumping off from the upper floor. Kuroro landed gracefully a few metres from Kurapika, his arms carrying Shekinah bridal style. Before Kurapika could make any comments, he let go of the older sister; who hurriedly approached her sleeping sister.

Shekinah lovingly caressed Seraphita's bloodstained cheek, and her face was bitter. Kuroro pocketed his hands and looked around; he noticed all the blood stains, the head of Murai, the gores, the scattered entrails. He could pretty much figure out the extent of 'mess' that Seraphita had caused, but his expression betrayed nothing of his emotions at the moment. He turned and looked at Kurapika.

"I didn't expect Hisoka to come all the way here." He said with monotonous voice.

Kurapika frowned at him.

"Hisoka suddenly disappeared. Was it you?"

"What do you mean?" Kuroro gave a small smile, pretending to not understand the boy's question. Kurapika knew this and he glared unhappily at him, but elaborated his question nonetheless.

"Were you the one who…I don't know, teleported him, maybe?"

"And if I did?"

"…Nothing. It doesn't matter." If Kuroro was feeling generous and was attempting to save Hisoka's life, that was none of his business. Even if Kuroro Lucifer suddenly wanted to be a philanthropist, it did not concern him at the slightest, did it?

"No, it doesn't."

***

"Well, well, look at this mess. The girl did this?"

By the time the two Zoldyck had reached the room, Hisoka was already gone and Seraphita was already unconscious under Shekinah's spell. Zeno entered and inspected the room. He did not seem disturbed by the overwhelming stench of blood, and neither was Kuroro nor Silva. Shekinah, however, was a different story. She closed her eyes, not daring to keep looking at the horrible mess her little sister had caused. Kuroro looked slightly disturbed, not by the mess, but by the fact that the innocent girl could commit such a brutal mutilation. Even he would not go until that far when it came to killing, or even torturing. Torturing had never been his hobby, anyway.

"What's wrong with her?" Kuroro inquired.

"Her power…went wild…" It took effort to even speak. Although she was physically fine, she had to mentally brace herself. The stench of the gore was overwhelming her senses. "She went into a panic, and she lost control…And she used Deus Ex Machina…"

"Deus Ex Machina?" Kuroro inquired.

"Her Nen ability that allows her to have full access to the five Hatsu types, using them in 100% efficiency. This is the reason how she was able to take on four of your Spiders on her own. When she uses it, her eyes turn platinum."

Kurapika frowned as he thought of what Shekinah had told them. Deus Ex Machina was somewhat similar to his Emperor Time, but the impact seemed much more destructive. It even allowed the girl to have the upper hand even when fighting _that_ Hisoka. He mentally noted that he must not, by any means, make the girl went into panic. Suddenly, Kuroro's cell phone rang.

[_Danchou? We are done here._] Shalnark informed him from the other end of the line, waiting for another order.

"Good. For now, disperse. I'll contact you later." Kuroro said with even tone, and without waiting for Shalnark's response, he hung up. He pocketed the phone and found the Kuruta staring at him. "What?" He asked with bored tone.

"You were the one who set up the explosion and the chaos outside." Kurapika said accusingly, his tone was unhappy.

"I prefer you use the term 'distraction'." Kuroro shrugged coolly. Kurapika frowned even deeper. Something was off.

"What are they to you really?" His question earned many keen listeners. Everyone in the room, including the Zoldyck assassins, was quite intrigued on why Kuroro Lucifer, the infamous leader of the Genei Ryodan, would go that far just to help the two Deus girls. Rescuing just did not fit his image as a cold-blooded murderer.

What indeed? Kuroro himself pondered about it. He put a hand over his mouth; a gesture he showed when he was thinking hard. He had been asked the same questions for almost thee times in a night, and he had told the Kuruta boy that they were nothing less than a family. Inwardly, he felt that he did not deserve to call them his family. Truthfully, he had really forgotten their existence until the coincidental dream he had some weeks ago, while they still remembered him all along. Friends? Comrades? Companions? He could not really put a word to describe his relationship with the two sisters, but there was just a nagging feeling that they were important to him, and he felt somewhat guilty for having forgotten them. He almost laughed at himself and his musings; him, Kuroro Lucifer, feeling guilty? Now that was something worth investigating. Kurapika frowned at his silence.

"Don't tell me again that they are like your family. The idea of sticking the word 'family' and 'Kuroro Lucifer' together is just absurd in itself." Kurapika scoffed hatefully.

"You think I don't deserve to have a family." It was more like a question than a statement.

"No." Kurapika answered in less than a heartbeat. "Not after what you have done to _my_ family, and many others'."

Kurapika was already reining himself from exploding. It took all he had to refrain his eyes from turning scarlet.

"And what do you think of what _your_ family had done to _theirs_?" Kuroro challenged him as he gestured his head towards the sisters.

Kurapika gave a sharp gasp and his eyes widened. Suddenly, Shekinah's cold words rang in his head once again.

"_Your Kuruta clan was the one who slaughtered our Deus clan."_

Kuroro noticed the slight change in his expression and smirked smugly. So the boy knew of it, after all, and just recently. He had hit bull's eyes. Kurapika opened his mouth to say something, but the words did not come out. He felt choked, suffocated. All this time, he had thought that he had been wronged; his clan's murder had been wrong. That he had the right to seek revenge. Now that the blasted Kuroro Lucifer put it in such way, it made him feel that he no longer had the right to seek revenge. Much as he hated it, the man was right to say that _his_ family had really slaughtered Seraphita's and Shekinah's family. Neither sisters had accused him or tried to kill him out of revenge. Seraphita even said she did not even think of it anymore. Suddenly, the glorious quest of revenge that had been his lifelong goal was shamed. Kurapika closed his mouth wisely and hung his head low. He did not wish to hear anymore brutal truth about his family's wrong deed coming from Kuroro, of all people.

"They were only 4 and 8 when they were orphaned." Kuroro generously informed Kurapika, the smug grin never leaving his face. As he expected, the Kuruta stiffened. Kurapika had been around 13 when he was orphaned.

_But they have each other, I have none._ He tried to reason; to make excuses. _And they had no knowledge of the world, no knowledge of self-defence. Nothing but each other's presence._ Another small voice spoke in his mind. He had been taught martial arts and other useful knowledge on survivals. Four and eight years old were the age of ignorance. They practically knew nothing about survivals.

"How do you know of all those?" Silva, who had been silent all the while, suddenly asked Kuroro.

"They told me." He answered shortly and elaborated nothing.

Suddenly, voices of men were heard from distance away. The sound of footsteps stomping furiously along the corridor was almost deafening to all of them, but none of them seemed panicked by it. Kuroro looked at Shekinah, and she nodded in understanding.

"We will be leaving now." Shekinah said weakly. She turned to Kurapika, who was still holding Seraphita close to him. "Can you carry her?"

Kurapika nodded wordlessly. He had no idea what the older girl was planning, but he would have to stick with whatever she was coming up with.

Shekinah turned to the Zoldycks. "How about you?"

"We can take care of ourselves. But there is something I need to tell you." Silva told her. Shekinah looked at him, weighing his words. There were thousands of questions that she wanted to ask him about her father, but that would have to wait. Their escape was top priority for the time being. Finally, she nodded at him.

"_Pantheon: Come, heavenly steeds. Come at my summon and fulfil my wish!_"

Shekinah's purple eyes glowed eerily, and the Zoldyck did not miss this. Wind blew in the much ruined room, and soon two horses materialised from thin air. At first they were just faint shadows, but as they solidified into tangible forms, Kurapika could see that one was the grey war horse he had seen before, and the other one was a winged white horse; a Pegasus.

Sleipnir approached Shekinah without saying anything, and both Shekinah and Kuroro mounted the war horse without any difficulties. Turning to Kurapika, who was still dumbfounded and surprised by the display, Shekinah gestured at him to take the winged horse.

"Take Seraphita with you."

That was the only thing that she said, before Sleipnir dashed into the darkness of the night, carrying his passengers on his back safely. Kurapika was left speechless and lost, but when the noises were getting louder from the corridor, he realised that he had no time to be confused and hesitant. With one haul, he carried Seraphita's limp body in his arms bridal style, and turned to the winged horse.

The Pegasus looked at him with his great, blue eyes, and for a moment Kurapika thought that the horse _smiled_ at him. The horse approached him and bent his legs to allow Kurapika easier way to climb on top of him. Kurapika looked at the good-natured horse for a split second, before he positioned himself on the horseback hurriedly with Seraphita secure in his arms. After the Pegasus was sure that his passengers were safe on his back, he straightened up and galloped towards the big hole on the wall. He flapped his great wings and as he jumped from the building, his wings spread majestically and Kurapika was carried away in great fashion.

The two Zoldyck observed the whole scenery, and while Silva displayed nothing on his face, Zeno was obviously amused and curious.

"Really interesting." Zeno chuckled as he prepared to summon his Dragon Head for their mount.

By the time the men arrived in the completely trashed room, they were all gone. Men were sent to track down them, but all of them returned fruitless.

***

* * *

_**Author's Note**: Well, sorry for the long update, but I had some hard time writing this particular one. I don't want the fight to be overly detailed as it'll get boring later. And, yeah, for those who wish for Hisoka to appear, there you go, although his appearance is quite short. Maybe next time... And I have a picture of Shekinah and Seraphita in deviantart, just search Shekinah + Seraphita, because for some reason I can't put the full link here. _

_**Next**: As Shekinah and Seraphita were successfully rescued, other complications arose. Due to the ruckus caused, they would need the travel somewhere far away, but who would guess that Kuroro wanted to tag along? And who would guess that Kurapika was told to tag along, too? _


End file.
